Creatures of Value
by Calico45
Summary: What matters most in the world? Only a person can answer that for themselves, but the identity of the part of that person that gets to decide is a whole other question entirely. That is why the relatives of the growing youth prepare themselves for the day that the children change, because the moment that they meet that other part of themselves they become a whole new person.
1. Prologue

Creatures of Value

Prologue

It is an important question: what matters in this world? A value like honesty, maybe something material like possessions, or even something emotional like happiness matters, right? Then comes the question of which of the identified matters _most_. One has to be more important. The answers to all of this are not clearly cut—or should the word _universal_ be used? After all, in this world what matters most is determined by individuals. Such fickle creatures, individuals are. They have the power to choose what is most important in their own lives, and because of that they are born as naïve, blank slates. From there, they change as they grow, into a practically new person. As adults, they know what matters to them and have the abilities to protect it. There is just one question in all of this: when do children meet their guides?

"Artie, hurry up!"

"Sl-slow down!" cried a panting caretaker, futilely trying to keep his footing on the icy ground, "Alfred, you will slow down this instant! It's dangerous out here."

The small, blond child pouted at the scolding but neither slowed or even turned his head around to spare a glance at his fumbling elder brother. It was the first snow that winter and nothing was going to stop him from enjoying it, not even Arthur. Matthew had already gotten sick and effectively condemned him to playing alone, especially considering the way his caretaker exuded "holiday" spirit at the moment, so Alfred was more determined than ever not to let anything get in his way. Arthur seemed to realize when he did not even get a whine in response and he began to scan the snow for his baby brother. Part of the reason he had wanted the boy to slow down was not only because he could slip, but because the snow was so deep that he could practically bury himself. Admittedly, he was awed at how the boy could transverse the artic wasteland with so much ease while he was tripping over himself, but that awe has a tendency to die when the child disappears.

"Alfred?"

The snowy landscape did not move or utter a sound as Arthur's heart sunk. Had he even taken his eyes off of the child? Yes or no, it was always difficult to keep track of a moving target, especially one with inhuman speed. He had even been sprinting—and still was actually, slipping and sliding all the way, yet the only sounds were of the crunching snow under his feet.

"Alfred!?"

"Need some help?"

Arthur started before his emerald eyes narrowed on brown, feral rabbit running by his side. His features lightened at the mere sight of the familiar creature.

"Blair," he panted, relief clear in his voice, "I need to find that bugger, and quick. Then be faster than he could ever dream of."

The rabbit snorted at this before dissolving into the winter air, "As fast as a rabbit will have to do."

Arthur rolled his eyes at the words echoing in his head, "Be loyal to me and do it!"

"You know very well that is not how this works." the reprimand reverberated in his head, but he immediately noticed the difference in the ground he was covering.

Not only was he moving faster, but the slipping and sliding even eased a bit with his increased agility. There was no way that Alfred could be faster than him now. He just had to catch up to him. Surely the child was simply up ahead and not lost in the woods or anything. Arthur really hoped so, and pushed all thoughts to the contrary as far away as possible. That left room for something annoying to invade his mind: there was only one negative to Blair's help, the feeling of _something_ hitting the back of his neck.

"Why couldn't I have pointed ears like a normal rabbit?" he groaned with a shake of his head, jostling the floppy things about.

If Blair found this amusing, he was not letting on in the slightest, "This is better than a hysteria fit, but how about a topic that does not ridicule _our_ appearance?"

Arthur sighed, still diligently scanning the horizon. A simple conversation could not hurt. Small talk about the weather or something was so boring that it would be no distraction to noticing any trace of the missing boy. Besides, the moments he got to have a calm conversation with Blair was far and few in between.

"Well excuse me for being a concerned older brother."

He could feel the scrutinizing gaze within his mind. It took burning holes into one's mind to a whole other level.

"You should probably loosen your grip soon. He has to grow up soon enough."

Blair spoke the words rather neutrally, more of an observation than a suggestion, but it made Arthur's hackles raise regardless. This was not the conversation turn he had been expecting when he had made the sarcastic remark.

"He is still so young—"

"Age has nothing to do with it. Not really."

Arthur found himself biting his tongue, _hard_. He knew that. Of course he did. He was not an idiot. It was only a matter of time before Alfred met his guide, just like he had met Blair. In fact, the boy could have already. It was all up to the guide to reveal itself, as a mere glimpse or to stay from that day on. Still, it usually only happened when a person was in trouble, to save them, and when he or she was going through puberty, to guide them into adulthood. So why did Arthur have to worry about it when he would never let the first happen and the second was years away?

"Can you really blame me, though? For trying not to think about it? I do not want him to change." he could not help but ask, a smirk breaking through abruptly after as he caught sight of a trail of several small footprints.

"No." was all Blair said on the subject while his presence faded away and the small child increasingly came into focus as Arthur sprinted down the trail.

"There you are, Artie. What took you so long?" he asked, smiling as brightly as ever as he toddled about in the snow.

Arthur's eye twitched at the statement. If anything he got here incredibly fast. The thought crept into his mind that there was a possibility he would not have caught up to the child if Alfred had not stopped to play—and play he had now that Arthur was paying attention. There were snow angels everywhere, a formidable stockpile of snowballs alongside each of the two respectable forts, and a life size snow man in the middle of the battlefield. He began to feel his awe returning as the child flopped down to create yet another snow angel.

"You did all of this by yourself?"

Although it came out as a question, it was more of a statement. After all, there was no way Alfred could have done it with anyone all the way out in the wilderness where they were.

"No."

Arthur froze.

"What did you say?"

Alfred removed himself from the new indent in the snow and galloped over to his elder brother without even brushing the excess ice off, "I said no. Nikki helped me."

Arthur felt the tension in his shoulders increase, "And where is this 'Nikki' now?"

Alfred smiled brightly at the mention of his apparently friend's name, "She had to go home already. I said I would take her there, but she said I should worry more about you. Did you get lost or something?"

Arthur shook his head numbly before grasping one of Alfred's hands firmly, "I think it is time to go back now."

Alfred immediately began to protest, but Arthur expected as much and scooped the boy up before he could get away. His pout did not lighten, but he at least did not squirm as Arthur began following his own footsteps back to their home. The caretaker did not look back once as he walked on, even though he knew there was a brown, floppy-eared rabbit staring into the forest line behind him, and that there was something staring back at them that neither of them could see.


	2. Chapter 1

Creatures of Value

Chapter 1, The First Step

It was nothing big when it first started. In fact, Francis had originally called him crazy when Arthur first mentioned that Matthew was acting strange. His stepbrother insisted that he knew the shy boy better than anyone alive on this earth, if for no other reason than the death of their shared parents, and Arthur believed him. As much as it pained him to admit, their twin half siblings each had a favorite older brother and Francis was Matthew's. The fact that Francis berated him for reading too much into things, _as usual_, for the next couple of days only solidified Arthur's resolve to think no more of the eldest twin's odd behavior. After all, he merely left his polar bear plushy in the living room. He was getting older, so it would not be a surprise if his attachment to the stuffed animal was declining. _However_, the bear was gift from their shared mother and it would be strange if he outgrew that attachment. But, then again, Arthur was reading too much into things.

Little did Arthur know that Francis was beginning to notice oddities in Matthew as well, though he would never admit it. Francis had rationalized why Matthew was leaving his toy around when he had previously clutched it for dear life in much the same way that Arthur had originally, so when he saw the white bear on the couch of their shared home he was not surprised in the slightest. He even considered leaving the toy there, but several sleepless nights from when the toy had been lost, notably by no fault of Matthew's, vanquished the thought. He at least had to put it in the little boy's room, which was what he planned to do until he reached Matthew's door. He had not heard it in the hall, but actually at the door he could hear whispering inside. He knew immediately that it was Matthew's voice, but what he was saying was undecipherable. Without a doubt, Francis was curious, especially as he began to realize that there were pauses between the whispers as if there was a conversation going on, but it was overshadowed by his uneasiness.

When he could take no more he pushed open the door to find the boy very much alone. Francis could not say he was surprised, not really. As much as he hoped that Alfred had also been on the other side of the door he knew very well if he had heard Matthew that he would have heard Alfred. As awkward as Francis felt returning the bear, he could not tell how Matthew felt at all, which was strange in itself. The boy was shy and easily overshadowed by his younger twin, but his emotions were no secret. It was more that people did not notice, rather than any lack of communication on Matthew's part, and that was why Francis's sensitivity earned him Matthew's favor. He honestly could not remember a time that he could not read Matthew like a book. That was why, with the door firmly shut, he leaned against it in silence, both to process his thoughts and wait for the whispering to begin again. His thoughts processed faster. Matthew was still a child so it would not exactly be strange for him to develop an imaginary friend. What was strange is that he already had one in his bear. More often than not it talked for Matthew through a child's ventriloquist act, but even that had been on the decline as of late. Why did Matthew abandon an old imaginary friend just to create a new one? Also, why had he not been more forthcoming with its identity as he had with his bear? These were just some of the questions Francis could not answer when he laid awake that night, but surely he was just on edge from what Arthur had said earlier, right?

Francis did not mention the whispering to Arthur in the passing days and neither of the two brought up the new things they were seeing with the boy. Staring out the windows for hours at a time. Randomly showing up in dark closets alone. Becoming even more withdrawn. Surely the two were overanalyzing it all. The two stepbrothers were barely young adults strapped with the responsibility of caring for their siblings after their parents' death. It was only natural that they would not know what was normal and what was not. They could never replace proper parents as it was, much less understand just about anything clearly under the stress of balancing work, school, and family. So that simply had to be it. Their inexperience showing through. Or at least until Alfred began acting odd as well.

Arthur naturally noticed it first. He had always prided himself with at least making time for Alfred at bedtime, everyone knowing that the younger twin would have been a nightmare if not, usually to read him a story of the boy's choosing before bedtime. Arthur never knew whether or not story time would be in Alfred's room or his own, as it was no secret that the twins often stayed with their older brothers throughout the night, so it became a bit of a routine for Arthur to go searching for Alfred around bedtime, first checking the boy's room and then his own. The moment he saw his own bed empty he was devoured by anxiety. Not only was it strange for Alfred not to be in one of the two places, but none of the books in either his or Alfred's shelves looked to have been disturbed. In his apprehension he quickly checked the shelf in the living room as well—not a book out of place. He did not even stop in front of the shelf before he began tearing through the house. Not in his room. Not in Arthur's room. Not in the living room. Not in the kitchen. Not in the bathroom. Not in Matthew's room. Not in Francis's room. Not even in their father's old study that had become Arthur's, even when Francis had been related to the man biologically. That left only three places: the attic, the basement, and their parents' old bedroom. All three of which had reasons for why Alfred would never be in them. For one, all three were locked, the attic even needing someone to pull the stairs down. Then both the attic and basement were admittedly creepy, which would simply send Alfred's horror movie mind into overdrive. Finally, all four had simply never gone into their parents' bedroom since they died. It became an unspoken rule to leave it undisturbed. Or so Arthur had thought until he unlocked the door and saw Alfred sitting on the bed, staring out the window. Arthur could honestly say that he had never been so scared in his life than when Alfred did not even turn his head to look at his intruding brother and he broke.

No matter what Francis would say, it was better to get it out into the open. As soon as possible as well, apparently, because as soon as Alfred was safely asleep in Arthur's bed he spared no time in waking the frog. In his excitement he almost woke Matthew as well, not noticing him until it was almost too late. It took mere moments for the two to be staring at each other in the kitchen, a different cup of tea in each of their hands. It was only then that it became tricky, for the tension filled air held each of their tongues until they were well on their third cups. Francis made a joking pass at trying to go back to bed and that was all it took for Arthur to say everything, and by everything, absolutely everything from a description of the events, to his thoughts about them, to even threats of what would happen if Francis did not believe and help him. The other blonde could not even get a word, though he doubted he wanted to by the time his stepbrother was panting on the other side of the kitchen. Arthur's panting continued as he eventually started to look at his stepbrother expectantly. It was only then that he saw the worry and thought etched into the man's face. He had never thought that Francis could wear such an expression.

"We ask."

The words caught Arthur completely off guard, especially since Francis still had that face. Ask? Who? Who were they supposed to ask? Their friends, coworkers, teachers, a therapist, a psychologist, their doctor, their parents' dead spirits, each other? Who _exactly_ were they supposed to ask? As if sensing the impending danger, Francis amended his statement.

"We ask the twins."

_That_ was Francis's bright idea?

"Are you absolutely mad? What are they going to tell us—"

"Do you have a better idea, Arthur, because I would really love to hear it right now!?"

Arthur took his sweet time doing it, but he begrudgingly shook his head.

"Then this is our first step. It certainly couldn't hurt."

He had Arthur there, but he was still more than displeased. They sacrificed hours of precious sleep, which they got very little of anyway, and only came up with the plan to ask a question. Arthur was not sure what he had been expecting, but a little more than this for sure. Arthur's chest tightened. If Blair, or Estelle even, had still been awake they would have been bound to come up with something better than this. If their parents' had not died none of this would have been happening in the first place. He and Francis would not be playing house like this, Estelle and Blair would not have fallen asleep, and the twins probably would not have even been acting abnormally in the first place. As true as it was, nothing could change the past, not even their guides. That expectation was probably why they fell asleep in the first place.

"Arthur, we should go to sleep now. It will be daylight soon."

The words pulled Arthur back to reality, stunning him with their gentleness. He immediately huffed.

"I don't need your pity, Frog!"

No sooner than the words left his mouth did he turn to head towards his bedroom and pause. Francis, laughing at Arthur's previous statement, was still feeling playful.

"What, do you want something else? Maybe to sleep with big brother?"

When he did not get an answer he approached Arthur and quickly realized why he had stopped.

"Alfred, Matthew, what are you two doing up?"

The two watched as Matthew's usual shyness took over and he positioned himself behind Alfred, fidgeting expectantly all the while. Alfred's brashness took control of the situation then.

"You have to ask us something, don'cha?"

"Alfred, how did you know—"

"And can you hurry up Artie, I want to go back to sleep."

The two older brothers' scanned the twins over again at Alfred's words and without a doubt the two had been asleep. Matthew had his bear in hand rubbing sleep out of his eyes while Alfred was doing much the same with the occasional yawn. They could barely keep their eyes open and were still out here in the hallway. There was no way the two had been eavesdropping like this. It just confirmed absolutely everything the elder two believed and more, yet…

"In the morning, we will talk in the morning."

"Oui, we will talk in the morning."

They could not bring themselves to take that first step just yet.


	3. Chapter 2

Creatures of Value

Chapter 2, Change

Each had an idea of what had been going on far before morning came. They both simply spent the rest of the night refining their thoughts as their respective charges slumbered beside them. Neither Arthur nor Francis spared one thought to envy as the twins slept soundly, for they were enthralled with puzzles of their own making. Francis thought it had to be something psychological. Maybe post-traumatic stress from losing their parents or some other mental condition from the shock. Maybe the two also communicated on a more basic level, which was why the behavior spread. It was not too farfetched to believe that the twins influenced one another. On the other hand, Arthur believed that supernatural forces had to be involved. He was not always keen to admit it, but he was a supernatural junkie. His whole biological family was, in fact, and he and his own mother had done a ritual or two in the basement. His family had a history of supernatural associations, with black magic especially, and had hoped that it had carried over to Alfred. In his haste, he scarred him for life over anything remotely related. That turned the boy into a target when children were already enough of one as it was. Once any force that was in this house realized Alfred's fear it was game over, which was why it started with Matthew and spread.

It was actually worse than the two could have imagined, but they did not know that as soon as the morning's rays started shining through the window. The twins woke up rather easily to the sunshine and were their usual drowsy selves as they waited for breakfast to be prepared—by Francis. In the meantime, Arthur set the table and did a general sweep of the house. The four had not said much more than the usual morning greetings so far, but that changed rather quickly.

"Boys, we really need to talk." Arthur began, glancing at Francis's busied form before continuing, "And I believe it is best to not have to worry about anything else but that right now, so you two will have to miss school today."

The older brothers both expected for Alfred to cheer aloud, and by the budding face of pure joy he had been about to until it contorted with confusion.

"But, Artie, you never let us just stay home. You said our studies were really important and playing hooky made us delinquents. And what about you guys? Don't you have work?"

Matthew merely nodded at his younger brother's words and the elder two found themselves in a bit of a bind, though Arthur namely. Alfred had hit the nail right on the head, which was why the speaking brother found himself tempted with saying it was a holiday of some sort. He was sure Francis would back him up, but it occurred to him that doing so may have very well defeated the purpose of taking the day off in the first place.

"I did say that, Alfred, which shows that this talk is really important. More so than either of your studies and our work." Arthur explained, a little more truthfully than he had intended.

The words not only sobered the twins, but the older two were feeling their weight as well. It took only one step to start a journey, but one could argue that the first step was the hardest in the world for all the steps it later entailed. Turning back was not always an option.

"Breakfast~" cried Francis, trying to be a little cheery despite the tense mood as he passed around the plates.

Arthur even tried his best to breathe a little life into the room, but to no avail. For the most part, the four ate in uncomfortable silence: Matthew fidgeted, Francis stole glances, Alfred kept his eyes firmly on his plate, and the wall suddenly became interesting to Arthur. It was a painful experience if there ever was one, but the worst thing about it was that there was no end in sight. Even as the plates were cleared away and the four still sat at the table, needing new things to focus on, still no one spoke. None had the courage to leave either. In the depth of that misery, Francis broke first.

"Boys, we have something to ask you."

No one had expected this and the surprise was evident on all of their faces, even Francis's. However, once that initial break in the tension happened it freed up the rowdier of the twins to act more like himself.

"The same thing from last night?" he chirped, more than happy to aide in the tension's destruction.

Francis nodded, not waiting for the two silent partners to join into the conversation. Alfred was more than enough and all Arthur had to do was sit back and listen for this to work.

"You two have been acting rather strange lately." Francis started, trying to choose his words carefully, "We are starting to get worried. Are you ill?"

Francis leaned forward in his chair and watched Alfred's face contort with emotions. He had figured it would be best to not be so direct and let him explain himself one question at a time. That would allow him to cultivate more of an answer from the boy rather than an offbeat explanation that he had not been able to particularly think through. As the seconds ticked on and Alfred's face settled on something seemingly emotionless the conversation took a new turn.

"No."

Both of the elders' gazes fell on little Matthew, who was without his bear they noticed.

"What did you say, mon petit?" Francis coaxed.

"We are not sick." the boy clarified looking from Francis and then to Arthur, who had redirected his gaze to Alfred.

"Are you sick, Alfred?"

Arthur was answered with a slight shake of the youngest boy's head. Francis moved quickly so that Arthur could not continue with his pursuit, though he did sympathize.

"So what is wrong than, Matthew?"

"Nothing."

"Really? You are not lying to me, are you Matthew?" Francis pressed.

In response, Matthew became a little more withdrawn as well, shrinking into his seat at the accusation. Clearly they were in need of a new tactic.

"If nothing is wrong," Arthur probed, "then why are you two acting so differently lately?"

"We are only worried about you two." Francis added encouragingly, looking from one twin to the other.

This stirred no reaction from Matthew as he sunk into his usual silence. On the other hand, Arthur became even more interested in Alfred. It was unusual to say the least when the younger twin did not want to talk, but even stranger still that he did not when he wished to. A simple fidget was all it took to assure Arthur that he was correct in his guess.

"Out with it, lad! I know you want to speak."

"I'm sorry, Artie!" the little boy burst, effectively stunning the older two.

Matthew reached out and gripped his little brother's hand, stabilizing the youngest of them.

"I know I should not have gone into that room, but it has been so long. Why haven't we? All of our memories of them are there."

Alfred was far past teary-eyed at the moment and the older boys were sufficiently distracted by that, but a nagging suspicion ate away at them the entire time. Even if Alfred had gone in of his own volition, the door had originally been locked. And why now of all times to do it, for that matter? It just did not add up to either one of them. At the same time, could they really push the already bawling boy into explaining himself further? The temptation was there, but they could not bring themselves to do it. They had to regroup. The moment they released the twins from their chairs the two were gone in a flash. It left the older two in awe for a quick moment. A very quick moment.

"There has to be more to it!" Arthur hissed, "There simply has to be."

"Patience." Francis chided, "You did not expect much to begin with, so why are you frustrated now? Give it some time."

"How much, Francis? How much?" he cried, "If something is messing with my little brothers I want to stop it—"

"Messing with them? Don't start all that supernatural insanity in me! It is the stress of losing our parents—"

"Stress? _We_ are under the most stress! And it is not insanity for that matter. They would not act like this normally—"

"Which is why it is a mental issue! Hopefully a less severe one than yours. Don't think I do not know about your medication—"

"Excuse me!? Since when did you know about that!?"

"How could I not? Your whole family is looney!"

"Better than a bunch of whores and sinners!"

"TAKE THAT BACK YOU—"

"TAKE THAT BACK YOU—"

"Artie, you and Francy Pants are in sync again."

"NO WE ARE NOT!" they chorused.

"STOP COPYING ME!" they snarled, still speaking in time.

"How about you both stop talking then, hm?"

Both Arthur and Francis froze in place at the addition of the new voice, slowly sliding their eyes towards the direction it came from—the same one where Alfred's had moments earlier. To their horror they only saw the twins standing in the hall, Matthew with his face buried into his bear and Alfred looking a bit sheepish. Arthur latched right onto that.

"Alfred, who was that?"

It was only a whisper, but intense nonetheless.

"Artie—"

"Alfred, I know you know who that was. It was a woman's voice, who was it!?"

Francis could feel the hysteria growing in his stepbrother, but he could not find it in himself to stop the onslaught. He wanted to know who the voice was just as much as anyone.

"It was no one, Arthur!" Matthew howled.

"Matthew, don't lie to me, boy." Arthur growled lowly, "You either, Alfred. Who. Was. That. Now."

"It was Kumajiji—"

"It was Nikki, alright!" Alfred screamed, "It is okay, Mattie. It was Nikki, alright… Not Kumajirou."

The older brothers were more than a little taken aback by not only the shattered tension, but Matthew's insistence as well.

"Who is Nikki?"

Francis beat Arthur to the punch, though only barely.

"She is my friend. The one that played with me in the snow all those years ago. Remember, Artie?" Alfred explained, "She had to go home for a while, but she finally came back."

It took Arthur a moment to scroll through his memories, but before long he was reliving that winter day.

"Alfred, is Nikki your guide?" he questioned softly, barely accepting his own words.

"What's a guide, Artie?"

"A guide is what Estelle is to me or Blair is to Arthur, mon petit." Francis chimed in, "Is Nikki yours?"

Alfred immediately brightened at the comparison.

"Probably. Hey, does that make Flori your guide, Mattie?" the boy quizzed, eager blue eyes now firmly on Matthew.

Matthew turned beet red.

"Al! You know she is shy. She is not ready to meet anyone yet…"

Finally, it all made sense to Arthur and Francis. Their little brothers had met their guides only recently and said guides were not quite ready to interact with the outside world, though would when provoked. Some were wearier than others, although even Blair and Estelle needed time to adjust. Still, they could not feel any joy at the diagnosis. After all, this meant the changes were permanent.


	4. Chapter 3

Creatures of Value

Chapter 3, Time

Guides had existed longer than recorded history had. That was basically the one solid thing that everyone knew about them. Each guide in general varied as much as the person it was a part of, and sometimes even more, so not much more than that could be determined. Sure, there were theories about these guides: that they were shards of the soul, guardian angels, a person's subconscious, their inner demon, a person's ancestors. There were even more theories on why they existed, how they lived and fulfilled their purpose, and whether or not they were a magical or scientific phenomenon. Just about everything about guides was hotly contested other than one thing: they were very real.

Arthur and Francis were confronted with that very quickly after their original delusions had been dispelled. The twins had not been alone this entire time, but with their guides. That was why Matthew was not so afraid without his bear and how Alfred had gotten into a locked door. Admittedly, it was still frustrating. The twins' guides had to be quite weary to not be willing to show themselves after all that had happened. It was especially bothersome with Alfred because his guide was already manifesting itself in the physical world. It had to if it unlocked the doors. That means it was coming into its powers so its fear should be decreasing if anything. What was more is that the more the older brothers inquired about the respective guides it became clear how different the cases were.

Florence, affectionately dubbed "Flori," was Matthew's guide. She had yet to manifest properly in the physical world. Instead she spoke inside Matthew's head and sometimes appeared in place of his reflection, though not often. She was apparently far shier than Matthew, not even trusting him very much and keeping her contact with anyone to a minimum. Part of why he had abandoned his bear was to convince her to try and be braver, like himself. The act had gotten him some results, but she did not yet fully trust him, much less strangers. Alfred only knew because Matthew had come to his younger brother for suggestions. Surprisingly enough, being an example of bravery had been Alfred's idea—Well, Alfred's and Nikki's.

Her actual name was Nikkita but "Nikki" worked just as well. She had actually appeared before Florence, and not just that winter day years ago. What is more, she was a part of the physical world when she appeared as well. Alfred described her as showing up as a solid black cat with amethyst eyes. He would see her from time to time, just watching, playing, or hunting. It was only after other people had seen her that he knew the cat with purple eyes was real and he became infatuated. In fact, he had been very tempted to try to catch her and ask to keep her as a pet, but something restrained him. It was only one day, a while ago Alfred knew even if he had no exact date, that he came face to face with this cat and heard her voice. At that moment he knew it was the little girl "Nikki" he had met years ago. It simply snowballed from there, especially with the appearance of Florence. Though there was one more thing about Nikki that especially divided the two cases.

"She only comes out when she wants to. Even I cannot make her." Alfred had said.

That meant this Nikki was _choosing_ not to meet them. The argument could be made that Florence would as well, if she could actually manifest, but her especially timid nature was a viable excuse. Simply because Nikki did not want to did not hold the same weight. It worried them both that Alfred's guide could have a distrustful nature of people. That was good to an extent, but the last thing they wanted was for Alfred to start turning on people, much less themselves. They already expected hellish teenage years with the twins, so they did not need the guides making them worse. What was more is that they no longer had their own guides to try cope with the arrival of their siblings. Guides typically had a way of communicating with one another that was far more effective than another person speaking to someone's guide and simply not having a guide meant they were out of touch with what it was like. Why did their guides have to show themselves so early, early enough that it was abnormal even? It made things far more difficult than they had to be. If Arthur and Francis just had a little more time they could have at least had a chance at allowing Blair and Estelle to wake up first. There was no such chance now.

That fact weighed heavily on the two that entire day, but something rather interesting happened in the wake of that. They avoided each other, but _not_ the twins. Both of them paid special attention to each boy that day, even going out of their ways to communicate a little with their guides. They tried to be as tender and nonthreatening as they could with Florence. On the other hand, they were not quite sure what to do with Nikki. They each settled on a slightly different approach. Arthur tried to hold a conversation with her through Alfred, which was a little different than what they had both done with Florence. With her they had spoken, looking at Matthew, addressing Florence. With Nikki, Alfred had to act almost as a translator, sending messages from one side to the other. Arthur did not get very much out of his method, though neither did Francis. Instead, he treated Nikki as one would a child's imaginary friend. He acted as though she was a very physical being in the room with him and Alfred, speaking to her and asking her to move different objects. It admittedly reminded Alfred of this ghost show he had watched when his brothers were not around.

It was only at the end of the day that the two dared to confront one another, while the twins were scuttling about trying to prepare for bed. At first it did not seem like it was going to be at all awkward like they had been expecting. They shared their methods and results easily, commenting every now and then what a shame it was about Florence's timidity. However, the awkwardness started to set in when they got to the topic of Nikki.

"Just what are we going to do about her, mon lapin?" Francis asked with a sigh.

"I haven't the slightest clue, but I do know that we have to be careful. Alfred is quite fond of her—And stop calling me weird things in that language of yours!" Arthur huffed, leaning back in his seat at the kitchen table.

"Do you think she simply does not trust us, or that she does not have the power right now to manifest?" Francis continued.

"Frog, have you paid attention at all?" Arthur snapped, "Not only has she manifested, affected objects, and been doing this for a long time, but she even has taken human form. There is no way that she could not appear if she wanted to."

Francis rolled his blue eyes at this, "I know it is unlikely, but do you really want to believe that the guide that will determine what Alfred will become is suspicious of us?"

"Of course not, but it is not logical to think otherwise. We cannot know anything without speaking to them, and we have no ways of connecting except through the lads themselves, not without Blair and Estelle."

"So the problem is really with us."

Arthur narrowed his eyes on the man in front of him that clearly did not see all the implications of the statement he just made.

"What does that mean?" he growled lowly.

"Exactly that. This is our problem. Until we fix what happened with Blair and Estelle there is no way we will be getting anywhere with the twins."

Arthur felt like a deer in the headlights when the spotlight was suddenly thrust on him and Francis. Their problem? They had been scrambling around and worried for days because the twins had a problem, even taken a day off work to solve it, and now it was suddenly something wrong with them? Even if that was true, and it probably was, what exactly were they supposed to do to fix it? Going to a specialist simply was not an option. They needed every bit of money from their jobs that they got, missing any work, let alone spending such an amount, was unthinkable. Then self-help had clearly failed them long ago. Guides were not supposed to go dormant like that, so how were a couple kids supposed to fix that? It was all they were really. Even if they had jobs they were still in high school. In fact, they had to fight tooth and nail to be in the situation they were in now. Their biological families had tried to reclaim them and the plan had been to separate the twins. Arthur and Francis, as much as they hated each other then and still did, did not have the heart to let that happen. Their guides had fallen asleep well before their resolve had paid off.

"Can we even fix it, Francis?" Arthur questioned tentatively, gripping his own arm tightly, "I mean, we do not even know what we did wrong."

"We do not know until we try, mon cher." he soothed softly before turning his head to the hallway, "Are you two ready for bed?"

Matthew nodded right away, but the older two noticed a petulant pout on the youngest boy's face. Arthur immediately moved to solve a problem he knew he could fix.

"What is the matter, Alfred?" he probed after scooping the boy up into his arms, "Could you not find a book you want me to read?"

The boy shook his head fiercely, but said nothing on the matter. Instead, he chose to bury his face into Arthur's shirt. By this time Matthew had made his way into Francis's arms and Arthur was beginning to notice the boy's gaze stayed on Alfred the entire time.

"What is the matter, Matthew?" he prompted, hoping for the best, "Do you know what is wrong with Alfred?"

He was really hoping that the lying from earlier was a special case and not a new trend of his. This was supposed to be a problem that he could actually solve.

"I said I was sorry…" the older twin mumbled, so softly that even Francis almost did not hear him.

"'Sorry?'" Arthur repeated, now looking down at Alfred, "Why is he sorry, lad?"

Arthur caught a wild flash in Alfred's sky blue eyes the moment he looked up.

"_Because_ you are all mad at Nikki now since she won't show up."

"I said I was sorry!" Matthew cried again.

"Wait, wait. Who told you that, Alfred?" Arthur pushed, trying to regain control of the situation.

It had bugged him last night that the twins knew that they had wanted to ask them a question and now this, too? Clearly one of their guides had to be active in listening or at least insightful, and Arthur had every reason to believe it was Nikki.

"Just because it was Nikki does not mean anything and you know it, Artie!" Alfred wailed in frustration, "Especially if it is true."

"Well it isn't." Arthur hissed, "Yes, we wanted to see her, but we are not mad!"

"Mad and upset are the same thing!"

Francis could see the conversation starting to spiral out of proportion and stepped in.

"What does this have to do with Matthew?"

Francis's interference startled the warring two into complete silence. That only left Matthew.

"The reason Nikki is not showing up is that she promised not to until Flori did. It was part of the deal of her trying to be brave." Matthew explained.

"Nikki is a really good person, Artie!" Alfred assured, "Even if she does not do what everyone wants. I am sure you will meet her someday soon, so don't assume she is going to be bad now."

By the end of Alfred's little speech Arthur's grip had tightened on him. Maybe he had gotten too riled up earlier, they both had. All was not lost, at least not yet. The guides were here and had to be dealt with, but maybe, just maybe, the older brothers could be ready by the time they started appearing full force.

"So which story tonight then, Alfred?"

"Make something up. I told Nikki you were a really good story-teller so do your best."

"And I told Flori you make the best cookies Francis."

Okay, they needed all the time they could get.

"No pressure at all." they sighed.

"Ah, they're in sync again, Mattie!"


	5. Chapter 4

Creatures of Value

Chapter 4, Rules

With change comes new rules, or so both Arthur and Francis unanimously deduced once they realized exactly all the changes entailed. Now that the twins no longer felt that they had to hide their guides, they were very vocal with their own thoughts as well as their guides'. And that was only the start of it. Admittedly, much of their odd behavior before, or at least in Matthew's case, was from him trying to hide his conversations with Florence. So in that sense, the odd behavior decreased. In another, he now walked around the house holding a one-sided conversation from time to time. Alfred, on the other hand, did not have these conversations with his guide: he listened. That was when he, quite frankly, was at his most dangerous. He had always been the type of boy that had a million questions, and it seemed he found just the right person with his answers, all too happy to share. It may not seem like much at first, but when he would start talking about things he should in no way have known or thought about it bothered his older brothers, who also should in no way have known or thought about these things. This new knowledge, and also mere conversations with his guide, led to new and unpredictable actions, such as the day he discovered how to use more of Nikki's powers.

It had been a relatively ordinary day. Nothing was particularly ordinary anymore now that they were getting used to the guides, but Arthur and Francis had been adjusting rather well in their opinion. In fact, Matthew arrived that morning to breakfast speaking with Florence and neither of them interrupted him except with the morning greetings—even greeting Florence herself. However, they did notice what was odd, the fact that Alfred had not been with him or at least close. It was not like the two boys raced to breakfast, though it had happened on occasion, but not much could get between Alfred and food. As such, it was strange for Alfred to not already be there, especially since not only was Matthew seated, but Francis was finished cooking. It was so abnormal that Francis hesitated in bringing the food over to the table and when he finally did no one could even look at it for staring down the hallway that led to all of their bedrooms. If the smell could not draw Alfred out then someone simply had to go check on him, and everyone was so worried that they all wanted to do it themselves. In the end, they all went together; Arthur in the front, Francis in the middle, and Matthew tailing behind the two to Alfred's room.

What struck all three of them immediately was how quiet it was, almost as if the boy was still asleep. However, that would be strange, too. Since Nikki became known she would fulfill certain tasks, even in her incorporeal state, and one of those was taking Arthur's place as Alfred's alarm clock. So far they had had no issues with her doing so. He had been up and dressed for school every day, in plenty enough time for breakfast. In fact, he became so efficient under her tutelage that he no longer required the supervision or assistance of his brothers. Matthew had already picked up many of these self-sufficient habits and, thusly, Francis insisted it was Arthur's habit of babying him that had kept Alfred from doing it as well. However, now Alfred required even less morning maintenance than Matthew, which added to how odd this occurrence was.

"Alfred?" Arthur called from the head of the line, knocking on his door, "Are you in there, lad?"

All three waited for anything. A verbal answer would have been preferred, but so much as a noise to let them know that Alfred was alive and well would have been accepted. Nothing stirred.

"We will just have to go in then." Arthur muttered, grasping the door knob.

Although the solution to their problems seemed rather simple, it was anything but. Arthur in particular could not shake the feeling that absolutely anything could have been on the other side of that door and he was not so sure he was ready to face it. The anxiety was rather contagious because Francis was wondering whether or not to send Matthew back to the kitchen. Matthew, himself, suddenly wanted the bear whose name he could not remember. All in all, it kept the three frozen in place. Until the door knob was yanked out of Arthur's hands. It was like a domino effect. Arthur was so startled that he cried out and proceeded to fall backwards, right onto the screaming Francis. Matthew was squealing in the same chaos, but at least managed to not be taken to the floor like his older brothers had.

"What are you guys doing?"

It took a minute for all three of them to realize who was talking.

"Alfred?" they all gasped.

The little boy gave them a look that doubted their sanity from the doorway of his room, but quickly became refocused.

"We have to hurry, we are late, Mattie!" he cried, flawlessly maneuvering his brothers like an obstacle course.

No one was particularly surprised by the being late part, but it still hit everyone like a ton of bricks. They were late. Every last one of them, and they had not so much as even touched breakfast. The older brothers especially had their minds in a whirl while the twins darted towards the front door.

"What about breakfast?" Francis yelled after them, navigating the whirl slightly faster than his stepbrother.

"No time!" answered Alfred, followed by the tale tell noises of little shoes being shuffled about.

That straightened Arthur out, sending him on a path right to the front door.

"No time? Alfred, you would never—"

"Gotta go, Artie. See you later!"

Arthur stared, flabbergasted, at the now shut front door. Matthew was still putting on his shoes, in a rush no less.

"There is absolutely no way that he is not sick." Arthur stated, still rather in awe.

Francis, having seen the whole thing, decided not to even comment. Instead, he briskly made his way over to Matthew and helped him struggle with his shoelaces.

"Go on and have a good day, mon petit, and be sure to watch out for your brother."

Matthew nodded with a small smile and was quickly out the door himself, leaving the two alone together with a breakfast for four and no time to eat it.

"Come on, Arthur. No one is leaving this house until my homemade breakfast, cooked with lots of love, is eaten." Francis chided.

"No one is leaving—Are you bloody mad?! We should have already—"

"Just eat, mon cher!" hissed Francis, quite satisfied with the small choking sound that came from shoving a piece of toast in his stepbrother's mouth.

He had meant every word and more, after all.

By the time that Arthur and Francis finally left the house they were beyond late. It made no sense to run at that point, and near impossible to do so with their full stomachs. So they walked in uncomfortable silence with one another. Francis did try to hold a conversation with his stepbrother, but was getting the cold shoulder for various reasons. All in all, by the time they got to school, and thusly second period, the odd morning had been long forgotten, or at least put off—until both brothers were called to the school office. Both were reasonably confused as to why they were there. Before they say each other, that is.

"What poor person have you molested now, Frog?" Arthur groaned, glaring daggers.

Francis glared right back, "I should be asking you who you got into a fight with. You are so sensitive that all you can think to do is punch someone or run off and cry if you do not do both!"

"I do not!"

"What are you going to do? Punch me? Or is this one of the moments you cry?"

Arthur advanced towards Francis with every intent to actually earn his visit to the office, but he simply was not quick enough. In moments a very busy and very annoyed office employee stood between them with a phone reached out to Arthur.

"What is this—Hello?" he greeted into the phone now firmly in his grasp.

"Hello, this is Sandy Lockheart, the principal of Steele Elementary, is this the guardian of Alfred and Matthew?" asked the voice filtering through the plastic.

"Why yes, Arthur Kirkland, their older brother. Is there some kind of problem?"

"Sadly, there is. It seems that their integration into the special class did not go as planned and Alfred, in particular, got into a fight with one of the other boys. As such, we would really like to speak to you about how we are going to handle this. Normally we would ask you to come get him now, but since we understand that this circumstance is a little different than most, could you come at the end of today?"

Arthur's mind reeled with all the potential things wrong with his impulse of leaving right then and there, but he honestly could not bring himself to care. He would stay an honor student whether or not he missed the rest of today's classes, and if he took care of it quickly he would not have to miss work, which would not have allowed him to meet the principal today anyway. It was settled then.

"I can do you one better, I will be there in twenty minutes tops." he assured her, glancing down at his watch.

"Great, we will be waiting for you."

Without a second thought he hung up the phone, only then noticing Francis's apprehensive look. He debated on not even addressing him, but that would mean a war when they got home.

"We are due to see Alfred and Matthew's principal in twenty minutes."

Francis's eyes widened, "I assume you will fill me in on the way there?"

"If I must." Arthur admitted.

Despite having to work with the cranky office employee from earlier to leave, both of the brothers were on the path to Steele Elementary very swiftly. That meant Arthur had to explain himself just as fast. This was not the first time that Arthur had spoken to Sandy Lockheart. She had been one of the first people that Arthur had called when he found out that it was indeed guides that had been causing the odd behavior in the twins. That is namely because it was so unusual for children to meet their guides in elementary school. It was typically middle school, when they started going through puberty that they began to meet them. In fact, it was not that unusual for them to show up in high school. It all depended on the individual. Even so, Alfred and Matthew were not alone in their early transition to adulthood, thus the special class entered the conversation. Arthur had originally been unaware of its existence before his phone call to the Mrs. Lockheart, but Steele Elementary had a special class specifically for students that met their guides early. Those with guides had a higher level of mental maturity, even if it was still confined to the guide itself, that could not be met with the usual elementary teaching. If these children were not given adequate care they acted out, and the special class's whole purpose was to prevent that.

That much Francis already knew from his previous conversations with Arthur. What he did not know was that the move to the special class was a gradual thing that gave the twins time to cut ties with their old class and develop new ones in the special class. It was a critical process because the whole point was to prevent the children from getting frustrated and causing trouble. That had apparently failed in this case, the day they were officially switched over to the special class, and this new conversation with the principal was about discussing Alfred and Matthew's future there. It was very possible that the twins would have to transfer to another school with a special class to accommodate them if this introduction process had completely failed. In all honesty, neither Francis nor Arthur knew what they were hoping for. If Alfred got riled up enough to cause a ruckus that now involved the principal like this then they did not want him there, but finding and switching to another school was a lot of work they were not sure they could handle at the moment. And what about Matthew? What if he had made a peaceful transition? Was it really fair to move him as well?

All these questions were swirling around in their minds when they reached the principal's office. They had been in such a daze that they could not remember even reaching the school, but here they were in a rather large office that still had the mind-numbingly suffocating factor that a broom closet would. Thankfully, the principal was still out while they were pulling themselves together and taking a seat. Strangely enough, they saw two chairs positioned right before Mrs. Lockheart's desk. Arthur had not mentioned that Francis was coming, had he? He did not even know anymore, but it soon became apparent that he had not with the appearance of a young woman he recognized.

"Sofia? What on earth are you doing here?" Arthur questioned, looking the thin woman over from head to toe, "I figured you would be in class."

"I would be, but my little brother, Ivan, seems to have caused some trouble with another boy." she responded rather sorrowfully.

Arthur's eye twitched, "You don't say?"

"What are you doing here?"

Before Arthur had a chance to answer Francis had moved from what had to Sofia's chair and inserted himself right between them.

"It seems we are in the same boat as you, mademoiselle." he purred, taking her hand, "And what a lovely boat it is."

"Oh belt up, Frog!" Arthur hissed, "Don't bother with him, Sofia, but we are here for the same reason you are. It seems we should start over. I am the guardian and older brother of Alfred, the little boy your brother got into a fight with, and this is my pet frog, Francis."

"So cold." Francis whined, finally releasing Sofia's hand from his clutches, "Feel free to take a seat, ma cherie; I will stand."

"I am the guardian and older sister of Ivan, the boy I am sure is equally at fault in causing this fight, and thank you, Francis."

With the pleasantries officially out of the way, Arthur and Sofia took their respective seats and began the wait for the principal. The anxiety in the room did not make that wait an easy one and before long all three of them broke into a nervous chatter. From that, they learned quite a bit about each other. Arthur may have known Sofia from their shared classes, but he had not really known much about her private life and vice versa. It seemed that Sofia was facing many of the problems Francis and he were, and all alone as well. She and her two siblings were taken in by a relative, who died recently, when they were quite young. If she had not stepped up, her younger siblings at least would have been taken into foster care. Since then she had been struggling to keep her household together, and not only did Ivan continue to act up in school from when their relative had been alive, but her little sister, Natalya, began to follow his example. Needless to say, with the addition of both of their guides, this was not her first visit to Mrs. Lockheart's office. As much as the stepbrothers sympathized with her, they could not help but feel a little better about the incident with Alfred. This Ivan had a record, and while they did not want anything to happen that would trouble Sofia, they had to keep their family afloat as well.

"I cannot believe I am here again. It is only a matter of time before he is expelled." Sofia murmured, "But he really is such a sweet boy, only a bit misunderstood. If everyone only took the time to get to know him…"

Arthur smiled softly, "I am sure he is Sofia. Alfred is much the same way. It is either a hit or miss when you first meet him, and because he is such a bundle of energy he can be rather overwhelming. He means well, but some people cannot, or will not, see that."

Francis had to smother a chuckle at these two. They sounded like old ladies in a park babbling on about their grandchildren, and he secretly believed Arthur fit the picture better than Sofia. Still, it made a lot of sense why these two boys managed to rub each other the wrong way out of a whole class of kids. They were both big personalities with their own way of doing things, and all others in the way were normally steamrolled. If not today, they were bound to clash some other time.

SLAM!

"Sorry for the delay, I just had to pick up a couple of _things_ on the way."

No one in the room could respond as Mrs. Lockheart marched in with the squirming _things_ she "picked up on the way." For one, their hearts had leapt out of their throats when she kicked the door in. Then, those "things" were no other than Ivan and Alfred, held by the backs of their shirts and still very much trying to reach each other. Oh, and the boys were not exactly human looking either. Ivan sported a white pair of ears and tail, wolf looking, and Alfred had a white pair of ear and a fluffy, black tail, feline in nature, but the most noticeable things were the sharp claws decorating both of their fingertips as they tried to continually swipe at each other. Where to begin, indeed.

"As you all can see," the principal began, putting more distance between the two when one of Alfred's claws came too close to Ivan's eyes, "These two cannot be safely allowed near each other, which is quite a hassle to our already strained teachers and impressionable students. I do not wish to expel either one of them as I understand the burden placed on them with the appearance of their guides, but this behavior simply cannot continue."

Francis, Sofia, and Arthur were all horror stricken at both the sight and words. It was like the boys were in their own little world and had not even noticed what was going on. That was soon confirmed when Arthur could watch no longer and grabbed Alfred. The small, blonde boy blinked a couple of times before quickly looking around in his grasp.

"Since when have you been here, Artie?"

Apparently Ivan came to his senses without anything to swipe at as well.

"Big sister Sofia, da?"

Sofia quickly took him from the principal's grasp and reclaimed her seat along with Arthur. Immediately, the two boys began glaring at one another. All of the elder four could practically see the electricity in their stares. It was so distracting that Arthur could think of nothing better to do than cover Alfred's eyes with his hands. It made the boy more vocal and restless, but it was far easier to deal with. Sofia even copied him when she saw the results. Only then, when the two were sufficiently managed, did Mrs. Lockheart take a seat at her desk.

"I thank you all for being able to see me on such short notice, but I think it is very obvious how needed this conversation was." she added, "As said, I do not wish to expel either of them for various reasons, but if a resolution is not found then I will have no choice in the matter. It may seem harsh, but if I leave out the burden on the teachers and other students, they are both still a serious risk to each other's safety. I know I am not the only one that sees those claws, and I would much rather expel someone today than send someone to the hospital tomorrow."

The three elder siblings nodded solemnly, not breaking eye contact with the principal. By then the atmosphere had taken a sharp downturn which caused the boys to stop moving and actually listen. That was when things started to make sense to the two, and they instinctively stiffened.

"What exactly do you suggest we do?" Arthur asked, plainly and sincerely, "The absolute last thing I want is for Alfred to get hurt, but I am going to have trouble finding another school for him. Now that he has his guide he has to be in a special class until at least middle school, maybe longer, and I do not have time to homeschool him until then."

"I understand, Arthur. You mentioned as much the first time we spoke. The same is true with Sofia from what I understand. Therein lies the problem. I do not know your specific children well enough to give you a suggestion, Alfred especially. All kids are different, so giving a generalization with them is hard enough, but if you toss in the guides, which could have very well have instigated this little brawl, then I am simply at a loss. That is actually the reason I called you in, in particular. A phone call could have sufficed if I actually had a plan to deal with this, but I don't, so now I have to rely on you all to come up with a solution."

The tension in the room increased tenfold, causing Alfred's tail to poof out just to start with. Once again, Arthur took the initiative and removed his hands from the little boy's eyes, realizing that they had narrowed into slits long ago. However, he had retracted his claws, which was a good sign. After a quick, frustrated sigh, he begrudgingly scratched behind Alfred's feline ears.

"Now, lad, just what would it take to get along with Ivan?" he quizzed softly, as to not add more energy, negative or otherwise, into the situation.

Alfred's initial reaction was to lay his ears back, completely flat. It looked like he was about to let out a warning growl of sorts, but he held his temper and his ears slowly returned to their proper place. It seemed as though he was starting to understand the importance of the matter.

Finally, with his ears and tail twitching in what had to be annoyance, he answered, "I want an apology—but not from Ivan, from Kirill. He's a jerk that was mean to Nikki."

So the guides did have something to do with this, other than supplying the lethal weapons on their hands, it seemed. Lovely.

Sofia went pale, "Ivan, do you think you could get Kirill to apologize?"

She had just removed her hands from his eyes as well, and he seemed as pale as she.

"I do not know, but I want an apology from Nikki! If he can do what I can, she should be able to come out like Kirill!" he cried.

"I told you, she promised Flori that she would not come out until she could!" growled Alfred, starting to struggle in Arthur's arms.

"Lies! She should come out and meet everybody just like all the other guides. Those are the rules, and the only reason Kirill got upset!" Ivan barked, struggling as well.

Arthur and Sofia shot apologetic glances at each other and Principal Lockheart, quickly deducing that they would have to be civil for their siblings. Arthur quickly covered Alfred's mouth, Sofia following his lead.

"Ivan, it is true that Nikkita promised that she would not show herself until Florence did. Even Francis and I have not seen her." Arthur explained, "I am sure both she and Alfred are very sorry that they broke the rules and upset you and Kirill, but this promise means a lot to both of them."

"Alfred, I am sure Ivan and Kirill are sorry for the misunderstanding. They were probably so excited to meet the new students and guides that Kirill must have really felt left out when he could not meet Nikki, but we realize a promise is an important thing to keep." Sofia clarified.

Both Arthur and Sofia were nervous about the next part, but managed to remove their hands at the exact same time.

"Sorry." Alfred spat.

"As am I." a feminine voice that Arthur and Francis recognized to be Nikki added, seemingly from where Alfred sat.

All eyes but Alfred's widened at the sound of Nikki's voice, but Ivan significantly brightened.

"Then I am sorry, too." he stated, "And Kirill, too, da?"

Rather than a disembodied voice apologizing like Nikki, Ivan's ears, tail, and claws rescinded before a solid white wolf pup appeared on his lap.

"Be glad you are interesting." it snapped, "I can be sorry for that."

It became a bit easier to breathe with the apologies out of the way, and the color finally returned to Sofia's face. Arthur and Francis both got the feeling that Kirill was pretty difficult to deal with, maybe more so than Nikki.

"Still," Ivan started, "I am surprised you can pull out your ears, tail, and claws. I was the only one in class that could."

"I just figured out how this morning." Alfred answered nonchalantly, with a shrug of his shoulders, "Nikki said it would be useful if I ever got in trouble."

"So that was what you were doing this morning, mon petit?" Francis concluded.

Alfred wasted no time in nodding, causing both the older brothers to sigh, but smile as well. This would be a troublesome thing to deal with, they already knew, and were admittedly scheming already at how to do so. They could already picture the boy climbing the curtains and the like. Well, that meant it was time to ready the spray bottle and browse through the cat behavior books at the local bookstore, maybe even time to get a scratching post. Still, it was nice to know that they had at least resolved this issue, so surely they would not be so hopeless on the others.

"It seems this meeting turned out better than I could have hoped." Mrs. Lockheart articulated with a smile, "I look forward to seeing both Alfred and Ivan tomorrow."

That smile was quite contagious as Arthur, Francis, and Sofia thanked her, and each other, for her time and trouble. All they had to do now was pick up their respective sibling from class and enjoy the rest of the day. Surprisingly enough, they had not spent very much time in the principal's office at all, which meant plenty of time to do whatever they wanted at home. Sofia hurried on home with her siblings afterwards, but Francis, at Arthur's insistence, was going to help his stepbrother get an early start on their to do list, starting with securing a spray bottle. The sooner they got this done, the sooner they could start working on the new rules. Alfred and Matthew were not going to know what hit them.


	6. Chapter 5

Creatures of Value

Chapter 5, Different

New rule number one: no going outside without supervision, or, effectively, no going outside at all.

New rule number two: either Francis or Arthur one have to be told about any new powers discovered—immediately.

New rule number three: all claws have to be retracted indoors. Claw marks on anything, accidental or otherwise, will not be over looked.

New rule number four: no shedding on fabric.

New rule number five: breakfast must be completely eaten before leaving the house.

New rule number six: any and all problems or concerns have to be reported to either Arthur or Francis in a timely fashion.

New rule number seven: all rules are subject to change including the addition and subtraction of rules.

These were the original list of new rules recited the next morning after the school debacle, a coming together of sorts of both Arthur's and Francis's recent neurosis. Naturally, it caused both of the twins to pause, silverware in the air, in the middle of their breakfast. After all, who has a rule against _shedding_?

Alfred could think of no other way to phrase it, "Did you hit your head, Artie? How can we control how much we shed?"

Matthew nodded quickly in agreement.

"It is not how much, Alfred, but _where_ you shed. You, in particular, will be shedding both white and black hairs. We all have no clothing that defend against both." Arthur explained rather easily, both he and Francis had agreed on that rule.

Alfred was still not convinced, "And the rule about claws? As long as we do not scratch anything it should be okay, right?"

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of care, lad. We are trying to prevent accidents before they happen. No claws." Arthur continued.

"And the rule about finishing our _breakfast_?"

"Oh that, I think it is crazy, too."

"Mon petit," Francis gritted out between clenched teeth, "I put a lot of love into our meals, meals Arthur will not be getting anymore of at this rate, and it is important that you actually eat them."

Arthur almost dropped his fork.

"I get that, but does there have to be an actual rule about it?" Alfred pressed.

Francis smiled at this, "As you can see, some people at this table are not as well-mannered as you are. Besides, you have no problems finishing your meals."

"Yeah, but what about Mattie?"

"You will just have to help him when he needs it then."

"I can do that!" Alfred chirped, significantly brighter than when the conversation first began and finally refocusing on his plate.

"I am sure you can." Francis laughed, "Now if only someone else had that attitude."

Arthur slammed his hands on the table, "I get it, Frog. I'm sorry, alright!"

There was no particular reaction on everyone's part to the original slam, surprisingly enough with a child as timid as Matthew. This kind of banter between the stepbrothers was beyond commonplace before they ever became the twins' guardians. It did not even garner any attention among the four, or those that knew them, anymore. Why would it? Time for a new topic.

"So, have you two noticed anything different?" Alfred asked, one bite away from cleaning his plate.

It was a rather offbeat question, but it set both the older brothers on pins and needles. They hastily made a thorough scan of the room and their siblings—everything seemed in order. Alfred's plate was clean and he just guzzled down the last drop of milk in his glass. Matthew was also almost done with his morning meal, stuffed bear in hand. They were both dressed and ready for school that day and naturally Francis and Arthur were the same. The room, as well, seemed normal. Francis especially had spent all morning in the kitchen and had observed nothing out of the ordinary. So what could have possibly been "different" for them to notice?

"Not one thing, mon petit." Francis answered, "Care to help us out?"

"Not really."

"Alfred, are you really already going to violate the rules?" Arthur growled.

"Which rule, Artie?" Alfred quizzed with a cheeky grin, "Because if you can't tell me which rule I am breaking then how do you know I am breaking a rule in the first place?"

"Trivialities, Alfred!"

"Reasonable doubt, Artie!"

Today was going to be another long day.

"How about some help, Francis?" Arthur groaned, looking sideways to his stepbrother.

"I suppose, mon cher." he concluded, reaching out his fork and stabbing the last biscuit on Arthur's plate, "Though I have nothing when it comes to Alfred. Which rule is he breaking?"

Arthur merely stared for a couple minutes at Francis's blatant thievery. If they had been alone he would have read the man the riot act with all the colorful language he knew, but they were not so he promised himself that he would get even and refocused on his bratty little brother.

"You are violating rules seven and eight. Rule seven: all rules are subject to change including addition and subtraction. Rule eight: no hiding secrets from your guardians. Now speak up." Arthur chided.

Despite Alfred having no feline features at the moment everyone could practically see his hair raise.

"Tyrant!" he howled.

Arthur sighed. One might think that for such a word to be in Alfred's vocabulary then Nikki would have to be a fault. False. The currently named tyrant was the very one that taught the boy the word. As Alfred's designated storyteller, Arthur had several options when it came to stories: he could make something up, read something fictional, or read something historical. The former required quite a bit of effort, the middle was overused, so at times he found himself relying on the latter, and his first experience with that he had been using one of his textbooks. What was more, he soon learned the experience led to Alfred being able to read the books himself and search out similar ones to build his vocabulary. As such, words such as "tyrant," "dictator," and "democracy" were very much a part of the boy's thought process. If only he had known.

"I am not, lad. I simply need to know when something is amiss in my household." he explained as simply and candidly as he could.

As tiresome as it was to be addressed as a "tyrant," Arthur was truly torn at the moment. On one hand his little brother was openly rebellious and developing a defiant attitude against authority, but on the other he was probably more educated on the subject than his entire class of peers put together. Extremist ideas did come from education, he supposed, but there was a thin line, such as the one Alfred walked with Nikki's added knowledge. Arthur was having a hard time telling whether Alfred had crossed said line yet or not.

"Bad intensions are not required to be a tyrant. Absolute power corrupts absolutely!"

But for the sake of argument, he could assume so.

"Enough of this, boy. Either out with it or on your way to school you go!" he snapped.

Arthur was answered in no time flat with Alfred's stuck out tongue before the boy wasted no time in darting out the front door.

"You really riled him up today, mon cher. I am sure his teachers will appreciate it." Francis muttered, rising from his seat to collect the dirty dishes, "You run along, too, Matthew."

Arthur snorted at the comment as he watched Matthew following Alfred's example, though considerably slower, "Just what am I going to do with that boy?"

Francis waited until he heard the click of the front door, meaning Matthew was safely out of earshot, before he spoke, "Distinguish the line between irritation and manipulation, maybe? And you cannot blame this on Nikki since he was like this before. All you would be doing if you did is dig a deeper hole for yourself."

"Belt up." Arthur hissed, "I honestly have no idea what to do here, Francis. The last thing I want to do is discourage his interest in history, but if he gets anymore defiant I will have to board up the windows early in fear that he will run away."

"Oh, so you were planning to anyway?" Francis purred, depositing all the dishes in the kitchen sink.

Arthur, not having yet moved from his seat at the table, looked his stepbrother dead in the eye, "Yes, I was."

Francis was a little taken aback by how serious Arthur was being, "That is not the way to handle this now, much less when he is a teenager."

"Then how exactly am I supposed to handle this, then?!" he cried, burying his face into his hands, "Are you sure I cannot just lock him in the basement for a couple of years? I could do the same with Matthew so they are not lonely."

"As easy as that would be on both of us, I am afraid not, mon lapin."

"I thought as much… Now what could possibly be the 'different' thing we were supposed to notice?"

A long day, indeed.


	7. Chapter 6

Creatures of Value

Chapter 6, Hide and Seek

It was a nightmare! The day simply would not end. School took absolutely forever to dismiss, or at least it did when Arthur kept replaying that morning in his mind. What was different? How was he supposed to deal with Alfred's defiance? How much work would it take to turn the basement into a dungeon? Arthur was going in circles with these questions, and Francis was with his own. Once the bell finally rang the two had to make the journey to Steele Elementary, where two twins waited to be picked up. Upon arrival the stepbrothers quickly learned that Alfred was still as riled as he was that morning, courtesy of the boy's show of indifference to their arrival. In the end, he kept trying to keep distance between them and himself on the walk home and got too far ahead of his older brothers, resulting in Arthur having to carry him back to the house, struggling all the way, just to be sure that he did not run out into traffic. Naturally, Matthew had to be carried if Alfred was. Then, when they got home, two voicemails were waiting on the older brothers. Apparently, on top of Arthur's regular work schedule, an emergency had happened at both of their work places. Arthur had to stay late and Francis had to go in that evening when he would have been watching the twins. Taking the day off was not an option and the twins had never been left alone before.

Arthur and Francis were naturally a nervous wreck when they realized that there was simply no avoiding leaving the two alone together. No matter how many times they could recite the rules before they left it would not be able to make them feel better. After all, not only would this be the first time that the twins would be left alone, but they would be left alone with what was "different," with their troublesome guides, and Alfred was in one of those moods. They would have to invest all of their faith into timid little Matthew, hoping that he could get Alfred to behave via peer pressure because there was not a chance that he could stop him physically. The stepbrothers were so terrified about leaving the two of them that they would have gladly accepted a ransacked house when they returned, as long as the boys had not actually been outside. Arthur admittedly debated quitting his job right there and then in the face of these odds, Francis as well. Yet, in the end, they both left for the evening.

The evening had turned well into night, with darkness cloaking the world, by the time that either of them were finished working. Strangely enough, they both got off around the same time and were able to walk back home together—in a tense silence. Had they really left the twins alone, for hours, without dinner? In fact, they were pretty hungry themselves, meaning it was bound to be worse with the younger boys. Arthur wondered if they had been resourceful enough to raid the kitchen. Chances were far higher with Alfred than Matthew, at least usually. With Alfred being in a mood he was impossible to predict. He may even refuse the evening meal if he was still upset. Francis was wondering if the twins managed not to hurt themselves in their time away. Little boys liked to play, and it almost always escalated. Scratches and scrapes were inevitable. What they both truly wanted to know, however, was if the boys had stayed inside. Neither would even let the question enter into their minds for fear of the answer—but that just made them walk faster.

Run faster.

Sprint as fast as they could.

They reached their house in record time, recognizing the white siding instantly in the dark, not that it could possibly an issue with the remoteness of their actual home. The two rushed so quickly into the house that they almost got stuck in the doorframe together, and their adrenaline had yet to fade. It became a desperate game of hide and seek with the older brothers tearing through the house, looking high and low for the twins. Surely they were in their rooms doing homework or sleeping or something. Nothing in either Alfred or Matthew's rooms. Maybe their own then. They had always kept an item or two of interest to the boys. Nothing in Francis's or Arthur's rooms. They tore through the rest of the house in a similar fashion, sparing no room or leaving one crevice unchecked. It became a theme that they would enter a near pristine room and rip it apart. Even the kitchen looked like no one had been in it since that morning before they got there and Kumajiro had still been sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Where could they be!?" Francis cried, not being able to focus on one direction to look at in the living room.

"Do you think I would be searching like a madman if I knew?!" Arthur snarled, experiencing the exact same problem as Francis, but debating another run through of the house.

"Mon Dieu, they have to be outside. We have checked everywhere in here. There are no more options!" Francis chattered anxiously, pretty much ignoring Arthur in the process.

Just mentioning the possibility that the twins were wandering about in the dark took the situation to a whole new level. It was no longer hide and seek, even a high stakes version of the game. Arthur could not even respond to Francis's statement. Why had he not just quit? They all knew it was too soon to be leaving the twins alone. They had taken all the precautions against it since their parents died, so why had they fallen through today? Would it have been better just to go back to their biological families? Even if the twins were split up, it was better than them being hurt or worse. Then this would have never have happened in the first place. Whatever happened at the end of today was all their fault.

"I'll take the woods, you stay close to the house and the road!" Arthur commanded, hurtling out the front door and not even bothering to close it behind him.

It was impossible to keep the same speed in the woods. Not with all the tree trunks one could run into or all the foliage feet got tangled in. Arthur was just having a hard time not falling on his face for the most part, and that would have carried if he could actually see. Still, what else was he supposed to do? Remaining idle was just not an option, even if they called the police. Also, if they had done the latter, there was not a chance at being able to keep the twins. More than likely they would go to foster care and it would be their older brothers' burden to convince their biological families to retrieve them. It was really difficult to see the lesser of the two evils at this point.

"Alfred, Matthew!? Where are you two?!"

The forest even taunted him with his own echoes.

"How am I supposed to find them like—THIS!" he barked, finally falling straight onto the forest floor.

It had been unavoidable, he knew, but if he let himself fall it would have been like accepting defeat—which he was nowhere near ready to do. It took quite a bit of effort and time, but he slowly pulled himself back on his feet, feeling sore muscles everywhere on his body. His search continued at a far slower place, which may just have been the best thing that could have happened. He was still panicking, but the fall gave him a jolt of rationality. This slower pace caused less noise, which meant he could hear more. And it paid off. Just barely, he could hear what sounded like sniveling.

"Hello? Who is there?" he called into the darkness, "Alfred, Matthew, is that you?!"

No response, but on the off chance it was he tried to chart a path towards the noise. Naturally, it was not as simple as that. At times he would go a direction away from it by accident and feel like he was going in circles at others, but, eventually, he got to the point that it was loud enough so that he knew it was sniveling.

"Is anyone there?!" he yelled desperately.

Why had he not thought to grab a flashlight?

"Hello?"

It was then that the sniveling stopped. Arthur could still not see a thing but he chanced a few steps forward. When the noise did not resume he almost went into hysterics.

"Hello—GAH!?"

"Arthur, it's me."

It took a moment, but Arthur ran has hand down his pant leg to the spot where he was grabbed, and, sure enough, a tiny hand waited to be found. Even if he could not see, he could tell it was Matthew, and he wasted no time in picking the boy up. Doing so he noticed that he felt something furry in the boy's grasp. It must have been his bear.

"Matthew," Arthur began, although he was not sure where to begin, "What on Earth are you doing out here?"

He could feel the boy trembling, and he knew it was not simply from the cold.

"Looking for Alfred. I-it is m-my fault he is out here." Matthew explained, or tried to as his tears began to flow once more, "He was h-hungry and I would not let him make a mess of the kitchen. I kept t-telling him that you guys would be back soon. B-but then it started to get d-dark and he left."

Arthur could not even bring himself to be angry, "It is not your fault, lad. We should not have left you two alone, let alone for so long. Now come on, we are going back to the house."

As Arthur began to walk, Matthew firmly in his grasp, the boy squeaked, "What about Alfred."

"Don't worry about him, Matthew." he assured, "I am coming right back to find him once I get you home."

With that, Matthew was quiet. Assured or not, now that was up to debate. However, Arthur had more pressing worries. What he had not mentioned was that getting home was the hard part. He had absolutely no idea where he was or have any sense of direction for that matter. All he had was hunch. One that had him following twisty, curvy paths that violated any kind of map his mind could have drawn. It made him doubt his own instinct quite a bit, but it was all he had at the moment to depend on, and, as improbable as it was, after what seemed to be an eternity he could finally see light. He was far too distrusting at the moment to let Matthew down, but as he grew ever closer he recognized that white siding. They were home.

Only once he saw Francis, standing outside the house but looking down the road, did he let Matthew down. It would be a touching reunion between the two, he knew, but he had no time to waste. Arthur was back in the house before Matthew was halfway to where Francis was, searching high and low once more, only for a flashlight. He found one in moments and was back out the door, feeling more optimistic than he had all night with one twin down and now the ability to see. Before he reached the tree line he could hear someone calling out to him, probably Francis, but he did not slow down in the slightest. He still had to find Alfred.

Once he was back in the forest he was severely disappointed. Even with the flashlight, navigating was near impossible. If anything, he covered more ground without the light's distraction. That was when something else occurred to him. Originally he had planned to keep using the strategy that found Matthew, but Alfred was different. Both boys played outside, but it had always been Alfred that got in trouble for going into the woods and that only accounted for the times that the boy was actually caught. It was especially his favorite activity when Matthew was sick and he had always come home on time then. Although Arthur did not know of a single occasion that he had ventured out into the woods after dark, it was pretty safe to assume that Alfred had an idea of where he was going. That meant just wandering about and listening would not produce the same results. If anything, he should try to cover as much ground as possible, make as much noise as possible, and hope that Alfred heard him instead. It was settled then: back to running around like a madman.

The terrain was not any easier to cover at all. In fact, toppling over every now and then was just accepted. He would pick himself up and keep going, as fast as he could. There was no doubt in his mind that he was going in circles every now and then, but once in a while he would end up in a place he was sure he had not been. That was enough for him. He would just yell louder and move on. Finally, he reached the point where he just could not run anymore. Cold and out of breath, he had to stop. Luckily or not, he had made it to a clearing in which the moonlight shined down on him, illuminating the ground. The moonlight was so bright that he did not even need his flashlight, not that he had been able to use it when he was running around earlier. As he caught his breath, he searched it over. Strangely enough, he felt as though he needed to stay in the area, almost as if he were familiar with it. With enough oxygen circulating in his blood to get up and move, he began to explore the area. He was not sure why he was so drawn to the place until he reached the other edge and immediately recognized it. It was the same, exact same, as it had been the winter day, just without the snow. The trees were in the right places and the expanse of open ground was the same. The only thing different was that he could hear a stream in the background, but it had probably been frozen back then. If only he had time for nostalgia.

Plop!

Arthur froze. It sounded like something fell into water, nothing big, but it was so quiet that the sound carried quite a weight. He tried to trace the noise, hoping that it might repeat itself. It did not, but that did not stop him from trying to approach it. He could simply follow the sound of the stream, and that was exactly what he did, even if it meant going through the forest once more. To his pleasure, the surrounding trees soon gave way to the stream that owned a wide birth of land for its banks. Only a few trees dared to get so close to the water—and something was moving in one. Even in the moonlight, Arthur could not tell what it was but it was able to maneuver the branches quite skillfully. He slowly approached, careful not to scare it away, whatever it may be. That was when he saw it, looking straight at him from the dark side of the tree shaded from the moonlight: purple eyes with pupils narrowed into slits.

"Good day, Arthur."

He could not help himself, he fell right on his back. Not once did he expect to be observed when he was observing something else.

"Wait—Artie is here!?"

The voice was muffled, but he was able to make out what it was saying. At the same time the figure he had been observing moved to look at him and the moonlight illuminated its features. A blond mop of hair, white, feline ears, a black, bushy tail, and glowing sky blue eyes with slits for pupils. Oh, and it had an apple in his mouth.

"ALFRED!" Arthur snarled, finding new energy in anger, "Just what do you think you are doing out here!?"

In his haste to reach the boy, not only did he forget all of his soreness, but he ignored the pressing matter of the other entity in the tree. Instead, he began to try to scale the tree himself, or at least pull Alfred out. He was not very successful in either aspect.

Plop!

"Eating apples." Alfred explained simply after tossing the one that had been in his mouth into the stream, "Mattie said I had to wait until you guys were home to get anything from the kitchen and when it started getting dark I knew I had to get my apples quick… Before you got home."

The boy blinked in realization, and then shot up the tree into the highest branches. That did not please his elder brother in the least.

"Get down here this instant, young man!" Arthur threatened, "Do you have any idea how much Francis, Matthew… _I_ worried about of you? Matthew actually followed you in here!"

"Why would he ever do that?" Alfred asked, soft as a whisper, "I mean, he knows I know my way around the forest."

"Because it is dark, Alfred. None of us knew if you could navigate in the dark and even if you can, it is still dangerous! Anything could happen out here and you are alone as well. Realize that you are still a child and need to be taken care of already!"

Arthur covered his mouth as soon as he said the words. He had not meant to become nearly so worked up, but he could not make himself feel sorry for the rant. The truth was the truth after all. Emotions that Arthur could not distinguish flittered about in Alfred's luminescent eyes.

"It seems you have overlooked several important matters."

Arthur stiffened. That was the thing from earlier. It took him a minute to notice, but it had climbed close to where Alfred was, now bathed in moonlight. The appearance of the black cat with purple eyes was all it took for him to connect all the dots.

"Nikkita?" he mouthed.

The feline nodded her head, positioning herself to sit on canopy tree branch with her sleek black tail wrapped around her body, "I am here, so he is not alone, and I would have never let anything happen, for that matter. Also, he is no longer the child that you think he is. He has a guide, and to most people that means he is on the path to adulthood if he is not already one. You should know that. Although I am not saying that your worry is completely unfounded or that he is not responsible for it, what I say still holds true."

Arthur could not even accept what he was hearing at the moment, so he instead focused on anything else.

"But how could you come out now?" Arthur interrogated, "Florence has not!"

"But that is just it, Artie. She has." Alfred clarified, "She is what was what I asked if you noticed this morning. Think about it. Have you noticed anything off today, at all?"

Quite frankly, Arthur did not know how to answer that. He had not noticed a thing when it came to something being "different," but he had noticed plenty of "off" things with the house. Absolutely nothing had been out of place when they got there. Every item in the refrigerator, every book in the living room shelf, even Kumajiro on the couch where Matthew had left him this morning before breakfast—

"The bear!"

"Bingo!" Alfred cheered, "Flori is polar bear just like Kumajiro, and when she turns into a polar bear cub she looks pretty much just like him. Because it was her first day and she was still shy Mattie was not going to tell anybody, but I noticed right away when I saw her at breakfast. He had left Kumajiro on the couch, after all. I was hoping someone else would see, too, but nope. He even took her to school and I was the only one that knew."

Arthur could not believe what he was hearing. Why did he not notice that? Why did Francis not notice that!? He was the one that kept up with Matthew in particular, so why did he miss something so important? There was no doubt in Arthur's mind that they would not have left the twins alone if they knew that their guides had just started manifesting. They would be wanting to try it out after all, probably outside if they could, and it had already been a recipe for disaster without the added desire to go out into the wilderness.

"How could we miss that?" Arthur muttered, shaking his head, "And why did you not tell us? Or why did you not come out?"

"It was not that big of a deal. Or at least I did not think so. And why would Nikki just show for breakfast all of a sudden? It is not like she actually has to eat." Alfred rambled.

Arthur did not quite know himself, but it was better to believe she would have a reason rather than that the whole world was conspiring against him today. Still, they could just talk like this all night.

"Alfred, please come down. I am not mad anymore, I promise. I just want to take you, and Nikki, home." Arthur pleaded, taking steps toward the tree, "I will even carry you two."

The air became tense for a moment before Arthur began to hear the tale tell sounds of scratching bark. To his relief, slowly but surely, Alfred began sliding down the tree. Nikki was even on his shoulders. The boy did not get all the way to the ground before Arthur snatched him up, securing him firmly in his grasp.

"I hope you do not expect to get any privacy for a while." Arthur sneered, squeezing the boy firmly for his own selfish comfort.

Alfred looked up at him and smiled one of those childishly innocent smiles that could melt the coldest of hearts, "I am always with Nikki so I don't get any privacy anyway. I think I can take it."

Arthur snorted at this before he realized something.

"I just have to do one more thing before we go home."

Alfred immediately gave him a strange look, but Arthur was undeterred.

"I believe we have not been properly introduced,"—now Alfred was really confused—"but my name is Arthur Kirkland. It is a pleasure to meet you Nikkita."

"The feeling is mutual." the black cat assured, wedged in between Alfred's and Arthur's chests, "But I do believe we should sleep at some point tonight."

"We should." Arthur agreed, finally beginning the walk back to the house, thankfully knowing the way from there, "But only after Francis explains to me how he missed this. Depending on his condition afterwards, or how fast he is, you all should get dinner tonight as well."

"I am afraid that dinner will have to be for three." Nikkita stated, "It seems he has fallen asleep."

Arthur sighed, hearing the soft snores himself, "Very well then, but if he is asleep I really doubt Matthew is awake. Dinner for two it is."

Arthur walked in silence for a bit before he heard a sigh.

"Make that dinner for four again. I believe Florence and I should have a word with you. We have been putting it off for far too long."


	8. Chapter 7

Creatures of Value

Chapter 7, Is it Dinner or Breakfast for Four or for Eight

It was a simple thing really. Nikkita had been right. The guides and guardians had needed to have a talk for a long time now, and it was about time it happened. Sadly, it was never so easy. Admittedly, while walking back home, Arthur had been incredibly anxious. He knew they needed to talk just as much as anybody, he had even been trying to push it along, but if Nikki's little comments from earlier were a precursor, then he knew he was not going to like what he would hear. If he could even get that far in the first place, and Francis seemed pretty intent to prevent that in Arthur's opinion. Not only had the man not put Matthew in bed, but he had purposely kept him up as well. On another note, he still had not realized there were two Kumajiros in the house, which really set Arthur off for various reasons. Then, he had not bothered to start on dinner. Were they supposed to stay up all night or something? And, finally, which was really the icing on the cake in Arthur's opinion, was that he insisted that _Arthur_ wake Alfred up when he had told his stepbrother, seconds earlier, that they should send the twins to bed, gather their thoughts, and then talk to them in the morning. The man could say that he just wanted to see if Alfred was alright all he wished, but he could see from a distance that the boy was and Arthur had even attested as much. If they wanted to prevent things like this from happening in the future, the man had to cooperate with him. Stupid frog!

However, it was all in vain, for before Arthur could so much as articulate anything to his stepbrother the man had awoken the child in his arms. Today had really been one of the worst days for Arthur, and if he would not have had to drop the boy and his conveniently hidden guide onto to the floor to do it, he would have wrung Francis's neck. Luckily for Francis, Arthur did still have priorities. Of course, that did not mean he could not give his stepbrother a taste of what was to come.

"Did you hear me, Arthur?" Francis snapped.

Arthur slowly set Alfred down, making sure the drowsy boy was stable before handing Nikki to him and removing his stabilizing hands.

"Arthur, is that a cat?"

Then he made a silent beckoning motion for little Matthew, conveniently with Florence in hand.

"What are you doing with Matthew?"

He wasted no time in grabbing the real Kumajiro off the couch and then handing it to Matthew, whose eyes widened at the sight of his stuffed animal.

"D-deux? Arthur, what is going on?!"

Show time.

"I don't know, Francis, you tell me. After all, you are the person that knows Matthew best. How could there possibly be two Kumajiros?"

When Francis did not respond Arthur took that as a sign to continue.

"I will tell you then. One of these is Florence, the same one that Matthew brought to breakfast this morning because he has left the real Kumajiro on the couch all day. Only Alfred noticed, which was why he asked if we had noticed anything 'different.' And yes, Francis, that is a cat, because now that Florence can manifest herself Nikkita is free to as well. Would a normal cat really have purple eyes, Francis?"

A dark aura descended upon the house.

"Mes enfants, go to your rooms. I will call you when dinner is ready."

The twins wasted no time in making themselves scarce, taking their guides along with them in a hurry.

As soon as they both heard a slam, Francis began, "Arthur, are you actually blaming me for this?"

Surprisingly enough, Arthur seemed a little more rational in the wake of the accusation, "For the twins going outside into the woods? No. For not quitting your job? No. For not noticing Florence? Yes."

Arthur could actually feel Francis's malice growing, though his own matched.

"Care to explain?" Francis bit out.

"As many times as you need." Arthur stated as-a-matter-of-factly, "One: I am pretty confident in saying the twins would have gone outside no matter what. Alfred left to eat apples after all, so I cannot fault you for that, even though I do not believe we would have ever left them home if we knew that their guides just started manifesting today. Two: with what we knew at the time, I was not going to quit my job either. So I cannot hold that against you unless I hold you to a higher standard. Three: we both try to monitor the twins, but it is no secret that you have an easier time with Matthew and I have an easier time with Alfred. Of course I did not notice the bear; I was arguing with Alfred this morning. What were you doing at the table? You always say that all we have to do is "pay attention to Matthew," so what exactly were you doing today? We did not even leave in rush, and were on the topic of what was 'different' no less, and you still did not connect the dots that Kumajiro was on the couch so the bear Matthew took to school had to be that something different. So unless you were trying to figure out all the resources it would take to turn our basement into a dungeon as well, what excuse do you have, as an equal guardian of the twins?"

It was obvious that anyone would have a hard time coming up with an answer to such a question in such short notice, but Francis did something rather admirable in spite of that. He grew calm.

"I made a mistake, but even if it is to a lesser degree, so did you."

"I agree!" Arthur cried, "Good thing that was not what I was really so angry over, then. What I am really mad over is the fact that you did not give me one moment, not one, to tell you anything before you woke Alfred up. I was going to tell you about the guides. I had to tell you about the guides! We were going to sit back and _finally _have that conversation with Florence and Nikkita that most ordinary people never get to. I have no idea if we are still going to now that the twins are awake and about, but I figured that would be the best way to prevent anything like this from happening ever again—"

"Arthur—"

"Because God knows, Francis, that I. Just. Cannot. Handle. That."

Francis sighed softly, taking in the sight of his stepbrother finally breaking into little pieces. He had been surprised that he had maintained a face free from tearstains when he walked in, but clearly it was just a delayed reaction. It was not like Francis that could really talk, though. He had cried like a baby when he had finally saw Matthew running towards him and he almost cried again when he saw Alfred, but Arthur had effectively ruined that. As understanding as Francis was, he was not about to hug the cracking Arthur. The man would simple have to pick up his own pieces, find himself some glue, and get to work all by himself. Although he could do one thing for him.

"Take as much time as you need to collect yourself, Arthur. I do not have to begin dinner until you say so." Francis assured, pacing off into the kitchen and busying himself with cleaning.

Arthur watched him steadily before sinking into the couch. He would have taken as much time as he needed anyway.

In the time that Arthur took to calm down and for Francis to prepare dinner, something rather odd happened. Arthur even thought he was simply imagining it, but he felt something stir in his mind. Naturally it was not of his own accord and with it he grew exhausted, or at least was pushed over the edge of exhaustion. Yet, despite that, he could not bring himself to be nervous about it. If anything, it was harder to fight off sleep because he felt comfortable. So comfortable… And he was not the only. By the time dinner was on the table Francis could barely keep his eyes open. Actually, he could not, neither of them could. In seconds flat Arthur was curled up on the couch and Francis had fallen to the floor. The physical jolt was not enough to cut through his drowsiness, but he did do as he said.

"Boys," he yawned softly, "Dinner…Nnn…"

It was fortunate that the weekend began the day after, hence the absence of school. Even more fortunate, Francis had to work only later that day. Arthur was home to watch the twins. The reason as to why this was so necessary is simply because the stepbrothers did not wake up until well past their usual times, and were not happy about it for a number a reasons. Arthur nearly had a heart attack until he remembered he had the day off. Francis, on the other hand, was not so easily stirred. Sure he had woken up on the floor and that was strange, but it was not the first time he had. That was a story for another day, though.

"Frog!"

Clearly he was not moving fast enough for someone's liking.

"What, mon lapin? Do you need your bottle or your diaper changed?" he asked as he pulled himself off the floor.

"Very funny. I just want to know why you drugged me!" Arthur snapped, approaching the man in the kitchen, "And for another matter, why did you leave dirty dishes on the table? We have to eat here today."

Francis looked down to confirm that there was indeed not a speck of edible food on the plates, "I assure you that I have no reason to drug you, it is less fun that way."—Arthur gave him a disgusted look—"And, as for the plates, they were what I served dinner on last night. It seems that at least the twins ate."

At the mere mention of the twins they both went pale.

"Yeah, it was yummy, but remembering only makes me hungrier now."

Their eyes shot to the speaker, no other than Alfred, still in his pajamas, but with Matthew by his side in the same state. Before they could breathe a sigh of relief they realized that the twins were not alone, but with a black cat and a small, white polar bear.

"Good morning." the animals greeted.

The full weight of what happened last night did not hit them until that moment. The guides were finally physical beings and had to be dealt with as such, now more than ever. Arthur immediately set off into the morning greetings, calling each one of them by name. Francis did much the same, but flavored his greetings with his favorite language.

"It seems that I will have to make breakfast for six this morning." Francis chuckled, starting to gather the leftover dishes on the table, "Mon cher, find two more chairs, will you?"

Arthur nodded, but before either could get much done they were interrupted.

"You two do not get off that easily."

"But we are here to help."

Francis nearly dropped the dishes. He knew those voices. Arthur knew those voices. Francis could barely believe it when he felt something soft land on his shoulder, even Arthur was having a hard time accepting that there was something pulling at his pant leg.

"Blair!"

"Estelle!"

As the stepbrothers became entangled in their reunions, the twins and their guides gazed on with glee.

"Make that breakfast for eight." Nikkita stated.

"The more the merrier, right?" Alfred quipped, picking her up, "Besides, it was really awesome that you could wake them up like that."

"That is right, Nikki. How did you do that?" asked Florence, in her usual soft as a whisper voice, now in Matthew's arms.

"To put it simply," Nikkita began, "They needed a reason to not only wake up, but come out; just as they had been given a reason to sleep. I merely supplied that reason."

"The talk you two had with them?" Matthew asked softly, in the voice he shared with Florence.

"Yes. I could have still had that talk with your guardians and had been fine, I merely wanted to lay down ground rules, but conversations that cover things that most people do not understand are generally supposed to be between either two guides or a guide and his or her own specific person. The common thought behind the norm is that if the guide wanted the person to know then they would have told them, and it is generally assumed that it is wrong for a person's guide to influence a separate person, as flawed as that is. People influence each other so our influence carries, but no one thinks that far when they are too preoccupied arguing whether or not the other guide intended to influence, presumably but not necessarily, in malice." Nikki explained.

"People are a pain, sometimes." Alfred grumbled, "More than sometimes actually, but I cannot bring myself to hate them."

"Me either." Nikkita agreed, "And that is all that matters."

"Why are you all so quiet over there?" Arthur interjected, his and Blair's excitement finally calming down.

Matthew had no idea what to say, but it turns out he did not have to say a thing.

"Just wondering what we will have for breakfast." Alfred answered, "I want sausage and eggs!"

"That I can do, mon petit." Francis laughed, "And you, Matthew? Pancakes, right?"

Matthew really did not know what to do, but eventually he nodded his head shyly. Alfred may have been bold, but had he always been able to come up with answers on the spot like that? Maybe Matthew was overthinking things. He should be happy, they all should. Now everyone was together and with their guides, and this was their first breakfast together. They had to welcome in the chaos somehow!


	9. Chapter 8

Creatures of Value

Chapter 8, Not Fast Enough

In the years previous to Estelle and Blair's slumber they had followed the trend of brotherly bonding that Arthur and Francis had, Blair being more observant of Alfred and Estelle of Matthew. Now that they were back, they did much of the same thing, merely more so with the other guides. In all reality, they were just as much siblings as their other halves were. For various reasons, that brought up mixed emotions in the older guides, but it was generally considered a good thing to be gaining a sibling. Regardless, Blair especially, felt that they had obligations to them, as stringent as they may be. One thing that did especially bother the two is how little their own halves understood how to treat Nikkita and Florence in regard to each other. They supposed it was partially their own fault for never distinguishing just how different guides could be, especially since they had been rather equal to each other in that sense. However, Nikkita and Florence were at opposite ends of the spectrum that they were in the dead center off. For anyone who wanted to actually attempt to continue and influence a child's growth, he or she had to take the child's guide into a very strict account and adapt to that. Arthur and Francis did not do that. In all actuality, their guides could tell that their other halves could barely recognize the difference no matter what they believed. And that was beyond problematic.

However, communicating was more so. There was more than one reason that Estelle and Blair went to sleep, and part of that had to do with why they were still at such a disconnect with their other halves. In fact, it made them jealous, and a little bit threatened, at how in sync the younger guides were with their own other halves. It was only to be expected, they supposed, as that had once been themselves at one time. Not that Arthur or Francis seemed to really pick up on that either. If anything, those two skimmed the surface of whatever they needed to notice and went on their merry ways. If they were simply blinded by selfish arrogance or resurgences of deeply laid trauma, the two did not know, and that was where they conflicted. Estelle was more sympathetic to their disconnected halves, though admittedly not overtly so. Blair, on the other hand, after the initial realization decided that he did not care. They had been awakened by Nikkita, the new guides, not their other halves. That only proved to him that his obligations to the new guides deserved precedence. Why Estelle had not come to the same conclusion, he was not quite sure, but it might have been affected by the fact that she could spare more energy to her disconnected half. With a rising guide quite like Nikkita, and Alfred as her other half, he was not so lucky. So the two did not say anything and it remained a secret, rather easily, that they felt how they did. Too bad it was only a secret from the stepbrothers.

Alfred and Matthew had noticed a tension almost immediately between their older brothers and their guides. What really struck them, though, was how oblivious they were to it. Maybe it was because they had not been together in so long, but they all looked so out of sync that it was painful to the boys. By now they knew quite well that a healthy connection with a guide was almost symmetrical in nature. A guide was just another persona of a person, a reflection if you will, and that was how everything could be so different with every obscure guide and there still be a sense of whether or not the guide was synchronized with to observers. If that had not been enough, and both of the twins would have attested it was, both Blair and Estelle acted differently. For one, Blair used to spend all his time with Arthur, only leaving his side to pursue either things of Arthur's or his own interest. Plus, he was a lot more involved with him. Now Blair seemed far more interested in following Nikkita and Alfred around, which the pair had mixed feelings about, and he and Arthur practically ignored each other for the most part. Estelle did still spend more time with Francis than Blair with Arthur, though she did keep an eye on Florence and Matthew, but before she had been a notorious chatterbox and gossip extraordinaire. She did not talk nearly as much anymore, to Francis or anyone else for that matter. That really scared the twins, whom were finding it quite difficult to believe that their older brothers were this dense. It had been a viable option for this to be a joke, until the two realized something very important: not once since the guides had awakened did they retreat back to their older brothers' minds. Metaphorically speaking, the mind was the guide's home; their command center for influencing and manifestation. If Blair and Estelle were not going back, if for no other reason to recharge, then there was a serious problem!

It was Matthew that became determined to do something about this first. As much as it would be heroic to fix the bonds between his older brothers and their guides, Alfred was not as foolish as some people thought he was on his own, but much less so with Nikkita. He knew that doing something careless and impulsive could land him in hot water and, worse yet, destroy what little synchronization, if any, they still had. He would not be the one to bring Blair and Estelle back into his brothers' lives just to take them back out again. Of course, that did not mean he was actually against doing something. If anything, action was more his motto, so not being able to take the lead on this one was more than a little frustrating for him. Nevertheless, he was prepared to sit back and watch Matthew act no matter the temptations before him, which were quite numerous in just the verbal pleas on behalf of his shy brother and his brother's even shier guide. It was really touch for a hero to not act like one, Alfred learned. It was like asking a bird not to fly or a fish not to swim. Sadly, only Nikki seemed to appreciate that, though it was not like he could exactly explain it to Matthew or anyone else in the house for that matter. Just more trials to overcome that will add to his overall heroicness, he had to remind himself.

Although it was for a different reason, Matthew was feeling the same as Alfred. Frustration that Alfred would not act, but realizing all the while that he could not say much when he was not exactly doing anything either. It is not like he completely lacked courage, he had not even got to that stage yet. He still needed an idea, preferably one tailored to his needs. He and Florence had been discussing the problem for what seemed like ages now, but neither of them were making any progress. After all, what did they know about the relationships between people and their guides? Absolutely nothing other than what his older brothers had now was wrong. Why it was wrong, he could not exactly explain, per se, but he knew it was. Not that he would be any closer to a way to fix it if he knew how it was wrong, which just added to the misery of the situation. He would usually go to either Francis or Estelle for advice right about now, but that was not an option. What to do indeed…

Although the older brothers were completely oblivious when it came to their own guides, the same was not nearly so true for the twins. If anything, they were paying extra attention to them in the wake of what had happened in the forest. That was how they noticed that, once more, Matthew was acting odd. Even if he was reserved, Matthew was antisocial by no means, but it seemed like he was pulling farther away from his older brothers, much like before they knew about Florence. It especially started to bother them when they noticed that he and Alfred were not interacting at all either. Strangely enough, Alfred acted completely normal except for that. Just what they needed, to be thrown for another loop. They both wondered if it was really alright to ignore Alfred like they had in the beginning, but until Arthur thought of _something_ they did not have much of a choice. They had to act strategically from now on with the twins' guides in full force. If they had to, they could turn to their own guides for support, they supposed, but why load them down already? The last thing either of them wanted was for Blair and Estelle to go back to sleep. Still, it was really better to address this kind of thing early. They should know how quickly things snowballed by now. Then again, they also had no desire to screw up once more. Decisions, decisions.

This was the unstable cycle that their house had become consumed in. The least affected party would have to be Alfred via Nikkita. She had stayed namely a neutral observer in this, not having any one bias in particular, and had helped curb Alfred's impulses. In the end, both she and her other half were glad she had. It was only once he had observed this cycle a few times in motion did Alfred become truly convinced that his family was utterly dysfunctional. After a little time to process that, he could not really say that it was all that shocking. Certainly not desirable, but not shocking either. However, this realization brought on the biggest temptation yet to meddle. Nikkita had assured him that this cycle would eventually collapse on its own, and he not once doubted her, but the true question laid in whether or not he was really willing to wait it out. Or even could, with his fragmented home life taking a hefty toll on his social needs. Whether or not he meant to, he soon answered his own question.

It was such a small thing, really. Matthew left Kumajiro on the couch again—except that it was not Kumajiro. How he had made the mistake, Alfred will never know, but Matthew left Florence on the couch and strode away, none the wiser. One might have expected Florence to say something, _anything_, to stop this occurrence, but utter disbelief held her tongue. At least until he had vanished from her sight. Then it was unmatched terror that kept her quiet. Alfred had watched this curious turn of events at a distance, which he had to do a lot of lately, catching it by chance when he was picking out a story for Arthur to read to him that night. As important as that was, being a hero, he could not simply ignore Florence in the state she was in. He could even feel Nikkita's sympathy from the depths of his mind, which was not exactly the easiest thing to earn. Apparently it was even more difficult to receive because before Alfred could even take a step towards her, Arthur had snatched her up.

"Frog, Matthew left his bear again!"

It was one of those rare moments that Blair was actually at his feet, yet… How could Arthur miss her trembling, Blair or not!? Alfred would have thought she was some kind of battery operated toy, which Kumajiro was most definitely not. As amazing as Alfred found that, something else dawned on him. Blair was looking straight at him. Instead of noticing the struggling girl above, Blair was focused on Alfred, and without a doubt, Nikki. He had never liked Blair keeping such a close eye on them anyway, but had tried to be kind in the wake of the discovered dysfunctional trends. More or less Alfred assumed that he had nothing better to do and tried his best to excuse it on those grounds. It had not worked well then, and certainly did not now. In fact, it really annoyed him. He was an infamous troublemaker, for sure, but this was just crazy! They were all crazy! And they were making him crazy!

"Just leave it there, mon lapin. He will come back and get it."

Arthur saw no reason not to listen and without a second's delay gently placed the bear back where it had been. While his back was still turned, he instantly regretted letting his guard down.

"Al—"

SLAM!

It happened so fast that time seemed to come to a halt afterwards. As soon as the bear hit the pillow Arthur heard Blair cry out and then the door slam. Al? There was no possibly conceivable way that had been his little brother, Alfred, that Al, that had just run right out the front door, right? A frozen Blair and a book of fairytales laying on the ground right in front of the bookshelf begged to differ. That was really him, was it not? In less than a week's time, no less. Before Arthur's thoughts could congeal into anything useful, Blair took off at a breakneck pace, with Arthur involuntarily on his heels.

Involuntarily became voluntary at record speeds when Arthur got a mere glimpse of the scene outside—the very scene he had been trying to prevent for so long, as a car came barreling down the highway with no regard for the blond child running across. He just was not fast enough.

CRASH!

Crackle. Crackle! _Fizzzzzzzzzzz_…


	10. Chapter 9

Creatures of Value

Chapter 9, So Simple

It all happened so fast that Arthur had not seen a thing. The only thing he actually captured was the end result, which had him dropping to his knees. It had not hit him. The car was completely totaled, but it had not hit Alfred. He was still out in the middle of the road, gaping, with a solid black cat by his side, still in much of the same disbelief as Arthur. In front of him sat the carcass of what was once a car, utterly smashed into oblivion on the front end by way of a little, floppy-eared rabbit. Blair had always had a mean kick when he needed it. It just proved what kind of powers guides truly held. It was said rabbit that moved first.

"Are you two okay?" he asked, removing his foot from the indent reminiscent of a meteor's crater, "That was too close for comfort."

"We're fine." Nikkita assured, her tail swishing about, "I am not so sure about the driver, however."

It was around this point that Francis and Matthew, guides in tow, came outside to see what the ruckus was—and were immediately horrified. In fact, it was Francis's screams that roused Arthur from his trance. This was also when Alfred began to connect back to reality as well, two things especially weighing on his mind: the safety of the driver and his safety once Arthur got ahold of him. Being a hero, he knew one was more pressing, but the moment he saw Arthur hurtling towards him that all went out the window. He honestly could not help it when the tears started flowing. Before he knew it he was bawling. Because he was scared, because of the car crash, because the driver was bound to be hurt, because he caused all of this, because Arthur and Francis were so oblivious, because Estelle and Blair were not trying either, because Matthew was so torn up over it, because of absolutely everything. Each tear and hiccup was for yet another, distinct but connected, reason that he could not stop crying. And these tears served only to send Arthur into more of a panic.

"Alfred, Alfred! Are you hurt anywhere!?" Arthur cried, pulling his little brother into his arms faster than he ever had before, "Alfred, answer me!"

Naturally, Alfred could not exactly communicate at the moment, but just as much as his tears whipped up his older brother's hysteria, his voice served to calm him. It took a moment for the latter to win over and Arthur's heart to finally slow to a sustainable rate. Alfred was still a mess, but at least he could think clearly. The reason that Francis had yet to barrel him over had to be that he was trying to keep Matthew inside, which Arthur was grateful for. That freed him up to address the car's driver. If he said anything regrettable, he doubted Alfred would hear him, much less remember. Speaking of the driver, he could smell the booze from where he stood, which only stoked his anger. Nikkita had withdrawn to Alfred's mind long ago, but Blair had refocused himself to exploring the car's interior via the shattered windshield.

"He is unconscious, but I have a feeling he was before the crash." Blair stated, poking his head back out, "He is actually pretty lucky. His injuries seem namely minor. I wonder if the alcohol suppressed his guide."

"Alcohol can do that?" Arthur asked, moving in closer to take a look himself.

"A lot of things can prevent us from manifesting, but it all depends." Blair explained, moving out of the way, "Francis called the police, right?"

"I hope he at least has the sense to do that." Arthur muttered, "But you never know, so we better check."

"You go do that, and leave Alfred there will you? He has seen enough of this." Blair instructed, "I will keep an eye on this guy."

Arthur immediately looked sheepish. He was just so happy to have Alfred alive and in his arms that he had tuned out the boy's wailing long ago. Maybe he should do something about that.

"Of course." Arthur chucked nervously, darting back towards the house.

Before he even reached the front door Francis came out and snatched Alfred right out of his grasp.

"What took you so long!?" the man snapped, torn between trying to comfort the crying boy in his arms, yelling at Arthur, and just running back inside.

Arthur did not even dignify that with a response, not that he had one, "Have you called the police, yet?"

"You thought I wouldn't?"

"That is all I needed to know." Arthur clarified, turning away and starting the trek back to the vehicle.

A small smile graced his lips when he heard the door slam behind him, but that was short lived as he noticed Blair moving around what was left of the car hood erratically.

"He's waking up!" the rabbit yelled.

Very short lived.

Things moved quickly from then on. The driver had indeed woken up and Arthur got to have that argument he had been itching for. He had honestly tried to be polite at first, but when all the man could do was spit profanities he decided it was not even worth trying to hold back. Arthur had not learned so much as the man's name by the time the police, and ambulance, arrived, though it was partially due to the drunk's incessant slurring. Everyone should know their limits, and this man could not hold his liquor.

By the time Arthur finally got back inside, choosing to call his insurance company outside rather than deal with whatever was waiting for him indoors, he quickly found out that Alfred was just calming down. It seems that Nikki had yet to reappear as well. That was without a doubt worrisome, but he could not exactly interrogate Alfred just yet, even if he really wanted to. Sure, he was glad the boy was safe, beyond thankful for it, but the overall shock was wearing off and he wanted answers. What had possessed him to just run out of the house like that, and so soon after the forest escapade? If this was merely the boy's defiance growing in strength, he wanted to know that, too, so he could deal with it. However, he was having a hard time accepting it. Alfred was still so young, even if he had a guide. Surely he had a couple more years of reprieve? All his thoughts tongue tied him, so he left Alfred to dry the remainder of his tears on the couch. Matthew, with Florence in his arms, was by his younger brother's side. Francis had invaded the kitchen and was anxiously cleaning everything he could reach. Arthur involuntarily opened his mouth to say the first snide thing that popped into his head—before he was interrupted that is.

"How is Nikki?"

Arthur recognized the voice as Blair's.

"She's fine, but doesn't want to be bothered." Alfred managed, though rather breathily.

When no further questioning came but instead the shuffling of little, furry feet Arthur knew that his observant rabbit was not so convinced. As to what Blair was thinking, or truly feeling, Arthur had not the slightest clue. For the first time Arthur truly noticed that, and it was humbling. What had it felt like to know those kind of things instantly, without even realizing it, he wondered. However, he did not spend too much time on the thought as the tension in the living room started to rise.

"Will she tell me herself?"

At this point Arthur could not get to the living room faster and Francis was hot on his heels. Arthur even caught sight of the bright green creature sitting on Francis's shoulder. So even Estelle was on edge.

Alfred did not answer right away, but when he did he had an unidentified emotion on his face, "She says your concern is misdirected."

Blair sighed, "She seems to be saying a little more than that, but it is only for your ears, yes?"

Alfred's facial features contorted a little, "Not really, but why does it matter?"

All of the observers were becoming more absorbed in the conversation by the minute, but Arthur especially. Blair was doing exactly what he felt he had needed to, get answers. It surprised him how eager he was to hear the responses to questions he never thought of asking, probably for that very reason. It was better to know too much rather than too little, in his opinion.

"Because you two are dangerous." Blair admitted, rather reluctantly.

He had been well aware of their gathering audience, but he felt he had to explain this clearly and concisely to Alfred. He _needed _to speak to Nikkita, and he would be sure to later, but either educating her other half or determining just how much he really knew was not time wasted. Now if only the audience would stay as such.

"Dangerous?! Blair, what are you saying?" Arthur barked, closing in on the two and taking the open seat on the couch to Alfred's right, the left being occupied by Matthew.

Blair could not remember a time that he had ever wanted to shove a sock in Arthur's mouth as badly as he did now. He supposed the anger and frustration was due to their disconnection, but whatever it was, Blair knew where he, himself, stood. He doubted that Arthur even knew what spectrum he was on. As such, he believed it was reasonable for him to simply shut up, and if he did not understand that, Blair could ignore him. Blair's irritation level grew slightly when Francis took the open seat to the left of Matthew and he now had to see the green amphibian on Francis's shoulder in his peripheral vision. Fine then. If she was just going to observe, there was no need to hold back, though he doubted he would have anyway.

"What I mean by dangerous," Blair began, studying the rather amused face of the young boy, "Is that you are a danger to yourselves. Nikki's priority is not of the normal sort, correct?"

Alfred's face shifted from his previous amusement to that of being stunned as the rest of the audience just grew even more confused. They tried their best to join the conversation, asking Blair, and Alfred, questions of varying nature. However, Blair had one goal and one alone. They would simply have to wait. Even Arthur, whose impatience was growing into hysteria once more.

"I guess it is not surprising you noticed. You have been watching us pretty much constantly lately."

Blair could not help but grin at the appearance of the voice behind him. So she did come out after all. And it shut everyone else up as an added bonus.

"Well it was rather odd that you came out just to stand there with your claws at the ready." Blair considered aloud, "You could have stop the car well before I got there, I am sure."

"I was more concerned with the driver's safety."

When Alfred's face became colored with shock Blair had seen all he needed to finally turn around and face the black cat.

"You mean he was."

Now Nikkita looked amused, "We are two halves of the same whole. His concerns, thoughts, emotions, and _choices_ are all mine. I have no reason to be adversarial with him. Why would I not accept them as my own?"

Blair had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what her value was, but he felt he had to make her say it. Yet he did not even have to ask the question.

"I value freedom, Blair. _My_ freedom, specifically." she specified, her eyes meeting with Alfred's to calm him.

Their practically captive audience could barely take it anymore, even the guides wanted to chime in.

"And because his first impulse was to ensure the safety of the driver you refrained from attacking the vehicle, but since no other kind of instruction came before I intervened, you did nothing." Blair concluded, "And that is exactly why you two are dangerous, especially from my point of view. My primary value is loyalty, as such I cannot allow you to make choices that will hurt yourselves."

The tension in the room increased tenfold at Blair's words, but not in the way one would expect. Though the audience was significantly hyped, it was Nikkita that was the source of the dark aura in the room. Her ears were laid completely back and her pupils had narrowed into slits.

"My values allow for self-sacrifice when desired. Even if these values differ from yours, I assure you that all my choices are in my best interest, and even if they were not, it is not your place to decide that. Rest assured that I will never let you interfere if I do not desire you to do so."

There was absolutely no effort on her part to conceal that her words were a very real and serious threat. Blair did not particularly blame her for her response, but the malice behind the words was enough to make him pause. He made note of the landmine he stepped on, just to be sure he did not incur her wrath once more in a later conversation. That would benefit no one.

"Okay! I believe we should move on to Estelle's explanation corner, where we make sense of Blair and Nikkita's cryptic references to their assumptions~" chimed Estelle, hopping from Francis's shoulder to Blair's head, who was not pleased in the slightest by this development.

Apparently Nikkita was as entertained by this as much as Blair because she retreated back to the depths of Alfred's mind. Blair wished he could do as much, but there was a chance that he would not be able to come back out so he was not going to risk it. He kind of hoped that Estelle would, but settled for knocking her off his head. Even Florence, with all her curiosity, felt it was better to retreat.

Estelle took a deep breath, "I am going to cover the basics, so bear with me. All guides have at least one primary value that they put above all else, though some have more and possibly equal values. Now, not all guides know this at first. As different as all the guides are, we typically rank ourselves on a scale on how much we know about ourselves. We never mentioned this earlier, because Blair and I are both at the center of this scale, so there was no need. However, now that there are two more guides, both of which are at different extremes, you should probably know. Florence, on one end, knows absolutely nothing about herself and will discover her own values and abilities with Matthew as a team. On the other end, there is Nikkita who knows exactly what her values are and how she will implement them. I suspect that she even retains quite a bit of human knowledge that Alfred does not even know, which is probably the detail that truly ranks on that end."

"What exactly does that mean?" Arthur asked for everyone intently listening.

So she passed the baton, swiftly kicking Blair with quite a bit of might.

"Alright!" he spluttered, "That means you cannot just treat us all the same and hope for the best anymore. You could treat _us_, Estelle and me, the same without issues, but you would be expecting too much from Florence and Nikkita in different ways. For one, Florence knows about as much as Matthew when it comes to herself, and even less so in basic human knowledge. You expect us to be able to help you stick to your paths when making critical decisions, while she cannot be held to that standard because she is still trying to find that path. Nikkita, then, you cannot expect her to follow a path completely acceptable to you, plain and simple. This was already an issue before she had such a tricky value attached to her, but now even more so. Pretty much, your influence on Alfred will be minimal if existent from this point on. In fact, I only explained Florence's case like I did because you can influence both her and Matthew. Because we are in the middle, you can influence Estelle and me just as much as we can influence you two. However, Alfred from this point on will forever govern himself on Nikkita's overarching rules, which will be something you can never change. The best you can do is adapt to that, because if you go against it, I assure you that bad things will happen."

Arthur looked pretty disturbed by the end of Blair's speech, and found himself gripping Alfred's shoulder rather tightly. Chances were that it hurt by now, but he doubted he could loosen the grip until someone said anything. Even then it might be a little questionable. Luckily for him, Alfred was far more concerned with something else.

"That is it?" he quizzed expectantly.

Surely that was not—

"Yes." Blair answered simply.

The boy lost it for the second time that day, but this time in anger.

"What about your disconnection, are you going to say _anything_ about that? Why do you think Mattie and Flori are whispering all the time? Why I cannot talk to anyone unless I am at school. If you are going to start this, go all the way!"

Estelle was a little taken aback, everyone else, too, except for the little bunny that had been observing him the whole time.

"You finally boiled over and that is why you ran outside…"

Everyone sat in a still silence for a moment—before Alfred very violently tried to throw a pillow at irritating rabbit. He would have if Arthur had not grabbed it out of his hands.

Blair was beginning to feel sinister intentions coming from the boy, and he knew that Nikkita's were starting to peak at that point as well. He better get on with it. Sigh.

"Arthur,"—Blair hopped right into his other half's lap and stared him dead in the eye—"Do you have any idea why I went to sleep, and still could if I went back inside your mind at any point?"

After a moment of hesitation and thought, he shook his head. Blair then proceeded to climb up his shirt and touch their foreheads together—before leaning back his head and swinging it forward with all his might.

"Because you don't believe in me anymore!" Blair snarled in the wake of the sickening crack from their skulls bashing together.

Arthur stared in utter disbelief at the rabbit huffing in his lap, "I don't believe in you—"

"No you, don't!" Blair continued, "The moment your parents died you lost faith in me because that was the one thing that I was not able to fix for you, but new flash: no one can fix it for you, you have to be the one to accept it and move on!"

"Mon chou, Arthur is not the only one with this problem." Estelle added, jumping into Francis's lap, "I am not going to head-butt you, but if you want me not to fall asleep again, then something will have to change. Neither of us can stay in the physical realm forever."

Both of the older brothers were not sure what quite to say. It stung more than a little to learn that this was a problem with themselves once more. But it was always like that, it seemed. What was more, it had put the twins in danger, again. There was too much repeating with this, but this was all because they did not believe in their guides, right? How exactly were they supposed to fix something like that? Besides, Arthur was still having a hard time accepting that he did not believe in Blair. After all, the rabbit had not only saved Alfred, but explained why he did the things Arthur could not make sense of, and the only reason he could was because he kept such a good watch over him. Pretty much everything Arthur wanted to but could not do himself. Why would he not believe in someone like that? Francis was having his own issues as well. Estelle fell asleep when he needed her most when she had been the closest person to him. It was a little hard to believe in someone after that, even if he caused it in the first place.

Silence engulfed the house as everyone waited for the stepbrothers to process all they had heard and say something back so the conversation could continue. That was just not happening. If anything, the conversation went on, but split in between Arthur's and Francis's individual heads. Because of the disconnection, not even Estelle or Blair knew what was going on in there. It was frustrating to say the least. Alfred felt like they were back to where they all started, and he was getting the feeling that Matthew was losing hope by the second as well. He did the only thing he could think of—call for help.

Alfred bounced off the couch, finally because he was getting numb, and turned sharply to face his brother's. He had made sure his turn was so sharp because it looked like Arthur was about to lunge and tackle him. Apparently he was not allowed to make any sudden movements for a while. Naturally, he had more than just Arthur's attention, and everyone looked at him expectantly.

He smiled a bright smile that seemed odd for a moment like this, "You know, Nikki said that a good first step is to first believe in yourself. Remember? We are two halves of the same whole! So she has to be right. Believe in yourself and it should carry over to your guides. As long as you believe they are a part of you, of course."

Alfred said it all like it was so simple, and to him, it probably was. Even Matthew seemed energized with Alfred's conclusion. It must have been easy for him, too. Maybe, just maybe, it could be simple for Arthur and Francis. That was all they could hope for under the eager gazes of their guides. At the very least, they had a starting point. Maybe it was already less complicated, even if only a little. That was something to smile about.


	11. Chapter 10

Creatures of Value

Chapter 10, Roar

As uncertain as everyone had been at the end of the day when Blair and Estelle finally spoke their minds, time did prove to be just what was needed. It was hard, the twins knew, for their older siblings. They had been forced to grow up so fast that they probably left some aspects of their childhood unattended to. Admittedly, they knew nothing for sure. Their older brothers were still very careful to insulate the younger two from as much as they could, so they took on the task at hand on their own at first, and then incorporated their guides. It still was not perfect, but there was finally harmony between the pairs again. No one really commented on it, namely because no one had to. It was just easier now. Everything was. Arthur and Francis were getting better at their balancing act, especially with help from their guides, and Alfred and Matthew began to flourish in the special class. In fact, just about everything was being taken in stride, which was really necessary with the two growing boys.

One such case was when Matthew finally figured out how pull out some of Florence's strength, resulting in a pair of ears and a tail. And claws. Cannot forget the claws. That morning at breakfast, both Matthew and Alfred attended with animal aspects showing in pride. At first their older brothers were not exactly sure what to think, so they settled with questioning Matthew about his new abilities.

"How does it feel, having Florence's power mix with yours?" Francis quizzed cheerfully.

He was admittedly excited for Matthew. From what he was hearing from Alfred's recollection of each school day, more and more students were starting to be able to do this. Matthew would be one of the last few, when Alfred had been one of the first. He had been sure that Matthew was feeling left behind, but at least that was over for now.

"It is not very different." Matthew lamented.

He had expected something far grander, not that he was all that willing to explain why to his elder siblings. No matter what the cost, he had to protect the secret that he and Alfred still went outside without permission. It was not like the older two were going to grant it anyway, and being kept indoors all the time was the same as imprisonment. Besides, it was outside that they could actually play with the power they received from their guides, hence how he developed an idea of what it would be like. Alfred had always been able to climb trees, and well. However, when he was in his feline mode he would be even better still. He was able to keep inhuman balance while employing the agility of an actual cat. And then Matthew would not even start on what Alfred's claws did to the tree bark.

"Not at first," Arthur explained, "But given some time and practice, you will be able to use the abilities of a wild polar bear. Regardless of my value, Blair gave me the speed of a rabbit."

While Matthew contemplated this, it brought up a whole other question in Alfred's mind.

"Francis?"

"Oui, mon petit?"

"What do you look like when you channel Estelle's power, her being a frog and all? I mean, look at Artie. He gets long, floppy ears and a cotton ball for a tail. Then Mattie and I look like our guides, too."

This question changed the mood of the table completely. Now all eyes were on Francis, and he could not find any words to solve that. His first instinct was to try and redirect this somehow, but even Arthur had latched on to this question. There was simply no escaping it.

"The same as I do now, Alfred, because frogs do not have a pair of ears and a tail like yours, or Arthur's for that matter." Francis stated rather wearily.

Arthur immediately felt that was a jab at him. Specifically, he had a feeling it was a jab at his cotton tail, though he was not sure why. Regardless, why had he never seen Francis like that beforehand? There was no way he believed that the man looked exactly the same. That was impossible. Out of all the people he knew, not one of them was exactly the same when he or she channeled his or her guide's abilities.

"The _exact_ same?" Alfred interrogated, bringing a smile to Arthur's face.

"Well yes, why would you think otherwise?" Francis defended, mock dramatization in full motion.

"Because Nikki says that she would assume that you would have the tongue of a frog."

Arthur nearly laughed at the accusation. A little much was it not? Or at least until he saw that Francis had gone completely still. No way.

"It is true?!" Arthur cackled, beating a fist on the table to keep his balance as he nearly doubled over.

Oh, he could picture it now, being right in the middle of a conversation with Francis and that tongue would fling out and catch a fly. It was getting harder and harder to breathe as the image persisted. What only made it worse was that Francis's cheeks were dusted pink. He _never _blushed. This was just too good to be true. He could even hear Blair laughing in the depths of his mind. What he would pay to hear Estelle at that moment. Nevertheless, the actual asker did not get in nearly as much as a laugh as Arthur did. Alfred thought it was funny, sure, but really cool at the same time. After all, who could do that? Matthew was quite intrigued himself. He was not as admiring as Alfred, as he would never want a frog's tongue, but he was not going to laugh either.

"Laugh! Laugh while you can, you black sheep of the rabbit world. Only you would have _floppy_ ears." Francis huffed.

All laughter died on Arthur's tongue, "Did you honestly just say that—And thought you could get away with it, no less!?"

He lunged at the man to his side, the both of them toppling to the ground with their chairs in tow. Alfred and Matthew watched on, not exactly sure what to do. This situation was not really all that rare either, they had to confess, but Arthur was still far more worked up than normal. No one talked about his ears like that. At least not without making the man go ballistic. It tended to set Blair off as well so neither of the twins would be very surprised if the guides appeared just to duel it out. Luckily, they did not have to watch.

"We're going to school, okay?" Alfred called out, dragging Matthew by the hand to the front door.

He was not about to wait for a response from those two, and quickly set about putting on his shoes and grabbing his backpack. Matthew followed his example. Just before Alfred reached for the doorknob, something caught his eye.

"Have a good day at school, you two. I will make sure that Arthur at least gets you today." Blair assured them from the couch, "Oh, and Alfred, are your ears and tail different today?"

The little boy grinned as his tail swished behind him, showing off black stripes on white fur, "Yep, another trick from Nikki."

Without leaving a moment for Blair to comment, the mischievous boy darted out the door with his twin by his side. Well that did not bode well. Blair wondered what Arthur would think about missing that. It would only invite more chaos into the already anarchic household. Still, he would not know a thing until Arthur could breathe again. Maybe he should intervene on his behalf already. Stupid frogs, the lot of them.

Once they had arrived at school, Matthew realized something that he probably should have noticed much earlier: Alfred was feeling feisty. It might have just been the added energy swirling around the younger twin from the breakfast brawl or the coincidental aligning of the planets, but Alfred had energy to burn and the will to use it. And that was scary. Sure, the two had already been accepted by the students of the special class, so the damage would be minimal in that respect, but that meant Alfred had cohorts to rile up, specifically five of them. Matthew had made some friends, too, but his shyness had gotten the better of him in that area and he had a single, main friend to show for it. Strangely enough, it was the twin brother of one of Alfred's friends. Go figure. Those two were actually the first they met at school: the Vargas brothers.

"Feli, Lovi, how are you guys!" Alfred exclaimed, running up to them with Matthew still in his grip.

"Terrible, and stop calling me 'Lovi;' it's Lovi-_no_!" snapped the older of the twins with darker hair.

"And you, Feli?" continued Alfred, completely ignoring the demand.

"Oh, this morning was great!" the younger twin cheered, "You two look happy, too."

"Yeah, Artie and Francy Pants got into another fight this morning over something stupid. It was funny." he explained, "Right, Mattie?"

"I wish they would not fight so much…" Matthew murmured, finally being released by his brother.

Lovino scoffed, "They can't be worse than what we live with. You guys have seen him, he can't be topped!"

Alfred laughed, "Leave Toni alone. He is an awesome brother."

It must be confessed that the twins cheated a little bit for their first friends in the special class. The Vargas boys were technically their half brothers; their guardian, Antonio, was, too. Long story short, Francis's father had a reputation with women and had children with at least four of his numerous lovers before his death: Francis's mother, Antonio's mother, Arthur's mother, and the Vargas twins' mother. Only Lovino and Feliciano had taken his last name and for various reasons that they were not even fully aware of, they were not in the care of their mother, but Antonio instead. Life for them was not terrible or anything of the sort, though. Antonio loved them dearly and raised them the best he could on his own, the same as Arthur and Francis did. Honestly, Alfred had found it hilarious that the first person Francis and Arthur contacted had not been Antonio when their guides showed up. He had already dealt with the Vargas twins getting their guides early and kept in regular contact with Francis, so why he had not come to their minds baffled Alfred. Maybe he should ask just to see their reactions. That sounded like a plan.

"Hey, why do you have your ears and tail out, Alfred? Oh, Matthew, too."

Alfred bounced around to confront the speaker, knowing exactly who it was, "Luddy!"

The light blonde child waited expectantly for a moment before submitting, "Ja, good morning to you, too, Alfred. Now, about your ears?"

Matthew had already rescinded his due to the vocal observation, but Alfred still had his greeting the world like the rest of him, "I had them out this morning and saw no reason to put them back."

Alfred complimented his words with a shrug, like it explained it all.

"That is not good, Alfred. You will stand out."

This time a new person had come up to them.

"Nothing is wrong with standing out, Kiks. You should try it some time." Alfred insisted, scanning the room for the two missing bodies from his group as Lovino, Kiku, and Ludwig began to have a conversation of their own.

Matthew and Feliciano had long departed from the immediate area, but still hung around where their brothers were.

The moment Alfred spotted the missing two he did not even have to call them over for them to join in, "There you are, Emi, Vanya!"

Emil huffed in response, but Ivan was quite happy to greet his collection of friends, "Good morning!"

Alfred's group of friends was probably the most mismatched in the entire school, but they liked it that way. Before Alfred had entered the special class and became the bonding agent between them all, they had mostly been third wheels in other groups. Lovino had gotten by from riding off his little brother's friendly atmosphere; Ludwig used his dominant nature to drift between groups and get close to their instructors; Kiku had been condemned to watching out for his siblings; Emil found that he preferred the companionship of inanimate objects; then Ivan had been too intimidating to make the friends he so desperately desired—before adding on his clingy, violent little sister. By the time that Alfred had caused enough trouble in all of their school lives to assemble them into his little group they were far from thinking of ever going back. Besides, together they were an unstoppable force that demanded the respect of students and teachers alike, even without the help of their guides, which were also friendly with one another. For that reason alone they could tolerate each other at times, so why not all the time?

"Alfred, your ears are out, da?" Ivan observed, even reaching out to touch them.

Alfred's ears merely twitched. As long as his former enemy and current rival was gentle he did not have a problem with it.

"Yeah. It is not like there is a rule that says I can't have them out. We are even the special class. Why _not _have them out?"

Ivan seemed to like this argument, as he pulled his wolf ears and tail out in conjunction. The mere peer pressure, which they both specifically piled on Ludwig, caused the rest of them to channel their guides' abilities, even Kiku, who joined the ranks of the furry and fluffy, being a raccoon dog, with Ludwig, a dog, and Emil, a fox. As for Lovino, he did not look particularly different at first glance, but that was because his snake fangs were hidden in his mouth. Admittedly, more often than not he had patches of scales on his skin as well, but they were too spread out for them to be seen when he was wearing his usual clothing. Alfred grinned at the sight of everyone. He had been dying to try out what Nikki had shown him, and now was as good a time as any. He sucked in a deep breath and—

_ROAR_!

The deafening noise reverberated off the walls, entering everyone's stunned ears over and over again. All eyes were on Alfred, as wide as saucers. And then the dominoes began falling down one by one. Ivan threw back his head and let loose a long, throaty howl to start off the animal chorus. The entire class dissolved into their animal forms and cries. Some that had not even meant to join the music, such as Lovino and the instructors, added notes in mere reaction through hisses and warnings. Alfred himself was the only quiet partaker, merely listening and enjoying the ruckus that he had started. To say that he was proud of himself was an understatement by far. Something felt incredibly liberating from letting loose his built up frustrations—and helping others release theirs. It could have honestly been one of the best feelings he had ever experienced, and the start of his true recognition of the power of Nikkita's freedom. If this was what he was destined for, he wanted more.

When the teachers finally got control over the class, Alfred managed to avoid getting in trouble. The rules for the special class were far different for this very reason and as long as no one got hurt in the process, they were generally allowed to express their wild instincts that came equipped with each guide. This rule, in no uncertain terms, was exceedingly used and abused, to the point of chaos at times, but that was exactly why it was there. It served as a safeguard to those beings which were neither children nor adults, leaning in no particular way towards either side because they were split into two equal halves, which would otherwise fall through the cracks under rules that were meant to maintain order among specific sets of individuals, for the rules between children and adults varied greatly. Those that did not know their own abilities, much less how to use them, could not be expected to even try to control them. For that reason, the special class did two things: allow its students to become comfortable with their abilities and protect them while they do so, all in the hopes of developing them into well-adjusted adults. Naturally, it was far simpler in theory.

That allowed the twins, Alfred in particular, to skate by and have plenty of outrageous stories to tell once they reached home. Today _should _have been one of those days, but on the walk home something a bit peculiar happened. Alfred asked Matthew not to mention what had happened. The older twin had been caught off guard at the sudden request and was not sure how to respond. He almost did not.

"W-why?"

Alfred walked on for several minutes like he had not even heard before he shrugged, "Cats can't roar."

Matthew blinked, "But you did."

"But _regular _cats can't."

The emphasis on "regular" only served to confuse Matthew further. "Regular" could mean anything, especially when it came to his unpredictable younger brother. Matthew could feel Florence's uneasiness growing. His guide had the utmost trust in Alfred's guide, so naturally she thought that he should just comply and let Nikki take care of it. It was not like Matthew did not have the same trust in Nikkita, or Alfred for that matter, but he was more than a little hesitant to start keeping things from his older siblings again. They already had one secret and Francis and Arthur were truly getting better. Was that not enough?

"Then which cats are special?" Matthew asked, more to himself.

Alfred stopped in his tracks altogether.

"Big cats."

The words froze Matthew in place, even as Alfred started walking again—right on past him. Big cats? Matthew's eyes never left Alfred, but moved over his entire body, ears to tail. White and black. Stripes. _Sharp claws_.

"_Ti_-_tiger_!?"

Matthew could hear Alfred's laughter somewhere in the distance, clotted out by his own thoughts. Alfred was a tiger? That just did not make any sense. Nikkita was a house cat, so that made Alfred one, too. Just like how there was a distinction between Ludwig and Ivan, a dog and a wolf. They were two completely separate things and yet? No! Matthew shook his head as hard as he could and slapped his cheeks. He was reading too much into things again. There was no way that Alfred was a tiger, even if he could roar. Maybe that had not even been a real roar. It is not like anyone in the class was a big cat, so how would they know? That was why Alfred was laughing at him and telling him not to say anything, so Arthur and Francis would not worry about nothing either. Matthew breathed a sigh of relief. He really almost had himself there. Oh well, he would laugh about this someday. For now, however, he had to get home and practice with his own abilities. It was not fair that only Alfred could do cool things like that.


End file.
